What is the impact of the rearing management applied during the heifers' whole life on the toughness of five raw rib muscles in relation with carcass traits?

Does the Rearing Management following by Charolais Cull Cows Influence the Qualities of Carcass and Beef Meat?

This study characterized, for the first time, the rearing managements (from birth to slaughter) applied throughout the cull cows’ life and observed the effect of these managements on the carcass and meat properties. From the individual data of 371 Charolais cull cows, three rearing managements were defined and characterized with 60 rearing factors. The results showed that the rearing managements had low effects on the carcass and meat properties. For the carcass traits, only the carcass weight, and fat and longissimus (LM) colors at the level of the sixth rib were impacted. Concerning the meat, only the red color intensity, the fat aroma, the flavor intensity and persistence were affected. According to our results, this study confirmed that it is possible to produce carcass or meat with similar properties; consequently, it is difficult to favor a rearing management. However, to manage jointly both carcass and meat qualities, trade-offs are needed.

Effects of Rearing Management Applied throughout the Charolais Young Bulls' Life on Carcass and Meat Quality

The aim of this work was to study, for the first time, the effects of the rearing management (from birth to slaughter) applied throughout the life of young bulls on carcass and meat quality. Five rearing managements were defined statistically, from a combination of 30 rearing factors, using a hierarchical clustering on principal components. This study considered the individual data of 179 Charolais young bulls from commercial farms. The carcass traits were more sensitive to rearing management than the meat traits. Rearing management had an effect mainly on fat and overall meat grain for the carcass, and on color and tenderness for the longissimus meat. However, it was possible to produce carcass and/or meat with similar properties from different rearing managements. Among the five rearing managements defined in this study, two were identified as allowing the best trade-off to produce simultaneously high carcass and meat quality. The first management was characterized by absence of growth period and a short fattening duration, with a wrapped haylage or corn silage-based diet. The second management was characterized by short pre-weaning and growth periods, and a long fattening period.

Evolution of Sensory Properties of Beef during Long Dry Ageing

Ageing is an essential step in obtaining meat with satisfactory sensory properties. Dry-ageing, although being a niche practice, is increasingly being developed to enhance the taste experience of meat consumers. In this work, we studied the kinetics of the evolution of muscle properties with increasing ageing time, in order to propose an optimal duration, allowing a compromise between quality and meat weight loss reduction. Our study was performed on 32 samples from 8 animals for which the Longissimus thoracis sensory properties were analysed at different stages of ageing (7, 16, 35 and 60-days post-slaughter). This work showed an increase in the dry matter content of meat with increasing ageing duration, concomitant with a slight increase in pH. Although the luminance of the meat is stabilized after 14-days, the red and yellow indices decrease until 35-days of ageing. Iron content also decreases with ageing duration. Finally, the kinetic evolution of muscle rheological properties indicates that the toughness decreases at least up to 35-days on raw meat. Cooking seems to homogenise the tenderness of the samples, no difference was noticed between the different ageing durations when meat was cooked. These first experimental data need to be confirmed with different animal types.

Characterization of Four Rearing Managements and Their Influence on Carcass and Meat Qualities in Charolais Heifers

The study aim was to identify the effects of the rearing management applied throughout the heifers’ life on the carcass (e.g., conformation, marbling, fat) and meat (color, texture, and sensory profiles) properties. From the individual data of 171 heifers from 25 commercial farms, a typology of four rearing managements was established from 50 rearing factors. The managements had an effect on the conformation, the color (fat and muscle), and the rhomboideus grain meat, for the carcass, and the lightness, the atypical flavor, and the overall acceptability for the longissimus (LM) meat. The carcass traits compared to the meat were more sensitive to a change of rearing management. Our results confirmed that it was possible to target the same carcass or meat quality from different managements. Moreover, according to the aims of the targeted carcass and LM meat quality, management 3 could be an interesting trade-off to jointly manage the quality of both products. For example, the carcasses that were produced had a high conformation, smooth meat grain and the LM meat was more liked. This management was intermediate compared to the other rearing managements and had a long fattening period with a diet mainly based on conserved grass and a high concentrate quantity.