Investigation of Smoked Beef Brisket Palatability from Three USDA Quality Grades

The objective of this study was to investigate differences in smoked beef brisket palatability from 3 USDA quality grades (USDA Prime, average [middle 1/3] Choice, and Select). Briskets (n = 54; 18 per quality grade) were seasoned with a blend of 1:1 coarse salt/black pepper, and then cooked in a smoker to a final internal temperature of 93°C for approximately 6 to 7 h. For sensory analysis, briskets were separated into point (pectoralis superficialis) and flat (pectoralis profundus) portions and then sliced perpendicular to the muscle fibers. Consumer panelists (N = 360) evaluated palatability traits, acceptability of each trait, and willingness to pay (WTP). An interaction between quality grade and muscle was observed (P ≤ 0.03) for all palatability traits, proportion of acceptable samples, and WTP. Consumers could not distinguish among quality grades of the point portions for tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking, and overall liking (P > 0.05). Point samples, regardless of quality grade, were scored greater (P < 0.05) than Prime flat samples for all palatability traits. Choice and Select flat samples were scored lesser (P < 0.05) than all other treatment combinations for tenderness, flavor liking, and overall liking. In alignment with palatability traits, consumers’ WTP was greatest for point portions, regardless of quality grade (P < 0.05), followed by Prime flat portions. Choice and Select flat portions had the lowest WTP (P < 0.05). Consumer acceptability of cooked beef brisket generally followed similar trends as palatability scores. Quality grade had no effect on the eating quality of the point portions of smoked briskets, and point portions received superior palatability scores to flat portions. Prime flat portions had greater eating quality compared to that of Choice and Select flat portions, and consumers had greater WTP for what they perceived as superior eating quality.

Drivers of Consumer Liking for Beef, Pork, and Lamb: A Review

Tenderness, juiciness, and flavor have been associated with consumer acceptance of beef, lamb, and pork. Drivers of consumer liking are interrelated across these species, but there are differences in consumer preferences. Animal age, animal diet, and subsequent marbling impact consumer liking across species. For beef, consumer research prior to the 1990s showed that tenderness was the main driver of liking. Consumer tenderness and juiciness liking are highly correlated. More recent research has shown that as overall tenderness improved and tenderness variation decreased, flavor has become a more important driver of beef consumer liking. Flavor is affected by consumer preparation methods, familiarity with different flavor presentations, and animal production systems. Animal diet impacts consumer perception of beef tenderness and flavor, especially when comparing forage-fed versus grain-fed beef. Flavor preferences vary across countries more so than preferences for beef based on consumer tenderness preferences and are most likely influenced by the consumption of locally produced beef and the flavor-derived type of beef traditionally consumed. Drivers of pork consumer liking have been shown to be affected by pH, color, water holding capacity, animal diet, and the presence of boar taint compounds. While tenderness and juiciness continue to be drivers of consumer liking for pork, flavor, as impacted by animal diet and the presence of boar taint compounds, continues to be a driver for consumer liking. For lamb, the flavor, as affected by diet, and animal age continue to be the main drivers of consumer liking. Lamb consumers vary across countries based on the level of consumption and preferences for flavor based on cultural effects and production practices.

Beef Quality Preferences: Factors Driving Consumer Satisfaction

The current study was designed to broaden the understanding of the attributes impacting the sensory properties of beef when consumed. Using a survey of consumers from three different geographical regions in the United States (US), we determined the impacts of three attributes on overall satisfaction in several different ways. The two main statistical methods used were an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model and the Conditional Logit model. Perhaps the most important finding of this study was that flavor was the largest contributor to consumer satisfaction. This finding was consistent throughout all the models. In the base model, flavor represented 59% of the satisfaction rating. Additionally, results indicated domestic beef was preferred over Australian beef by US consumers. Another important finding of the study was the impact of the demographic variables of age, income, and gender on satisfaction. The older group generally placed more emphasis on tenderness, while younger people preferred juicier beef. Males were more responsive than females for all attributes, especially tenderness. Those with higher income were more responsive to tenderness for all quality levels, but the lower income group was more responsive to juiciness. Overall, flavor had the largest impact on consumers' satisfaction level in comparison to tenderness or juiciness.

Consumer Palatability of Beef Muscles From Australian and US Production Systems With or Without Enhancement

The objective was to assess the consumer (n = 360) palatability and satisfaction of enhanced (7%) and nonenhanced Australian grain-fed, Australian grass-fed, and US grain-fed beef from 2 beef muscles. Strip loin (longissimus lumborum [LL]) and top sirloin butt (gluteus medius [GM]) subprimals were collected from 12 Australian grass-fed, 12 Australian grain-fed, and 12 US grain-fed (USDA Choice) carcasses. In addition, tenderloin (psoas major) and eye of round (semitendinosus) subprimals were collected from the same US carcasses to serve as anchors for high and low palatability. All subprimals were aged until 29 to 32 d postmortem. All fabrication and enhancement occurred in Lubbock, Texas. Data were analyzed initially as a randomized complete design and subsequently as a split-split plot design, with the main effects of country of origin/diet (Australian grain-fed, Australian grass-fed, and US grain-fed), muscle (LL and GM), and enhancement (0% or 7%) and all potential interactions as fixed effects. Enhancement significantly improved palatability in both LL and GM steaks as evidenced by greater (P < 0.05) consumer ratings for tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking, overall liking, and satisfaction. Enhancing LL steaks resulted in consumer responses that were comparable or superior to consumer responses for psoas major samples. Similarly, enhancing GM steaks resulted in consumer responses that were comparable or superior to nonenhanced LL samples. Consumers reacted least favorably to nonenhanced Australian grass-fed beef as they rated all palatability traits lowest (P < 0.05) for both LL and GM samples. However, enhancing grassfed beef resulted in consumer responses that were similar (P > 0.05) to nonenhanced grain-fed beef. This response to enhancement was observed in consumer scores for both LL and GM samples. Consumers could not detect differences (P > 0.05) in tenderness, juiciness, flavor, overall liking, or satisfaction between grain-fed beef from Australia and the US.

Effect of Carcass Chilling on the Palatability Traits and Safety of Fresh Red Meat

Chilling procedures have been widely used in livestock abattoirs since the development of refrigeration systems. The major criteria when applying chilling regimes is not only complying with regulations, but economic concerns, and also meat safety and quality assurance requirements. Given recent developments, an updated review is required to guide the industry to choose the best chilling method and to inspire the development of new approaches to chilling. Thus in this paper, the quality and microbial safety of beef, lamb, pork, venison, and bison resulting from different chilling treatments has been reviewed, as well as the underlying mechanism(s) for the different impacts on meat quality traits as a result of different chilling regimes. The effect of fast chilling on the tenderness of beef and lamb is a focus, as some new findings, have recently been reported, while multistep chilling is highlighted as it incorporates the advantages of fast chilling to reduce carcass weight loss, resulting in similar quality improvements as found with slow chilling. It is, suggested, that if spray chilling can be combined with the second phase of multi-step chilling, it will benefit the meat industry in terms of both meat quality and safety. Future studies should focus on combinations of chilling methods with new technologies, such as medium voltage electrical stimulation, muscle stretching, or ultrasound and so on, to move meat quality and safety to a new level.

Consumer Acceptability and Demand for Cooked Beef Sausage Formulated With Pre- and Post-Rigor Deboned Beef

The objective of this study was to compare consumer acceptability and demand between pre- and post-rigor cooked beef sausage. Consumers (N = 100) evaluated the appearance, aroma, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability on a 9-point hedonic scale and formulated an independent bid for each product. Consumers preferred the aroma and flavor of pre-rigor sausage to those of post-rigor sausage (P = 0.008 and 0.029, respectively). This resulted in a greater overall acceptability of pre-rigor sausage than that of post-rigor sausage (P = 0.011). Cluster analysis revealed that 45 consumers in clusters 3 and 4 led to such greater acceptability. Average predicted unit-demand for the experiment was 1.59 kg (3.50 lbs)/(USD)$ greater for pre-rigor than for post-rigor sausage (P ≤ 0.001). Overall, the results indicated that pre-rigor processing yielded sausage with greater consumer acceptability and demand.

Palatability of Beef Strip Loin Steaks Following Variable Length High-Concentrate Diet Exposure Prior to Pasture-Finishing

Proximate composition, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), consumer sensory traits, fatty acid composition, and volatile flavor compounds were assessed on steaks from USDA Select strip loins (n = 40; 8/treatment) representing grass-fed beef sourced from New Zealand (NZ) with marbling consistent with USDA Select along with strip loins from four feeding treatments designed to evaluate the effects of early exposure to grain-based diets for 0 d (0D), 40 d (40D), 80 d (80D), or 120 d (120D) prior to pasture-finishing on meat quality and composition. Percent fat, moisture, and protein and WBSF did not differ (P > 0.05), but percent ash was decreased in 120D samples compared to those from NZ, 0D, and 40D (P < 0.05). Consumer scores for all traits differed among samples from the treatments (P < 0.05), with steaks from NZ receiving greater scores for flavor liking than those from 0D, 40D, and 80D (P < 0.05). Consumers also rated NZ and 120D samples greatest for overall liking (P < 0.05). Saturated fatty acids were decreased, and monounsaturated fatty acids were increased in NZ samples compared to samples from all other treatments (P < 0.05), and conjugated linoleic acid was least in samples from NZ (P < 0.05). The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids was greater in 80D and 120D samples than those from all other treatments (P < 0.05). Non-enzymatic browning-derived ketones and 2-pentylfuran were increased in samples from NZ compared to those from all other treatments (P < 0.05), and differences among treatments in lipid-derived compounds were primarily of alcohols and aldehydes. Early exposure to grain-based diets for 120 d prior to pasture-finishing produces beef that is comparable to grass-fed beef from New Zealand in palatability but differs in chemical composition.

Influence of Production Practice Information on Consumer Eating Quality Ratings of Beef Top Loin Steaks

The purpose of this study was to identify if consumers’ palatability scores of beef top loin steaks were affected by disclosing production practices or brands related to each product. Strip loins were selected to represent 5 treatments: Grain-Fed Natural (Natural), Certified Angus Beef (CAB), Local Grass Fed (Grass), USDA Select (Conventional), and USDA Certified Organic (Organic). Two separate experiments were conducted (n = 120/experiment). In Experiment 1 and 2, panelists received the 5 treatment samples in a standard blind testing format in segment 1 (S1). In the second segment (S2) of Experiment 1, short descriptions were read aloud to participants before receiving each of their 5 samples, but all samples were actually USDA Select (false disclosure). In the second segment of Experiment 2, treatment descriptions were provided that matched the 5 treatments samples (true disclosure). When consumers evaluated samples in S1, they rated the Natural and CAB samples more tender and juicier (P < 0.05) than the other 3 treatments, and Organic was the least tender. Flavor and overall liking were greater (P < 0.05) for Natural and CAB steaks, while Conventional was intermediate, and flavor and overall liking were lowest for Grass and Organic (P < 0.05). When consumers received Select samples representing the 5 treatments, false disclosure decreased tenderness and juiciness of Natural, increased flavor liking of CAB, and increased tenderness, flavor liking, and overall liking of Organic (P < 0.05). True treatment disclosure increased flavor liking and overall liking of CAB and Grass, increased overall liking of Natural, and decreased juiciness of Conventional (P < 0.05). These results indicate consumers’ perception of eating quality can be influenced by quality differentiated brand names and labeling claims, particularly claims related to production practices.

Consumer Assessment of New Zealand Forage Finished Beef Compared to US Grain Fed Beef

Consumer sensory analysis was conducted to determine differences in beef palatability between three process-verified feeding programs (New Zealand fodder beet, New Zealand grass/non-fodder beet, US grain). Beef strip loins were selected to represent low or high expected eating quality (based on eligibility for the company’s branded program, which focuses on carcass attributes of marbling, ossification, pH, 12th rib fat, and HCW), resulting in 6 treatments: fodder beet low quality (FBL), fodder beet high quality (FBH), non-fodder beet low quality (NFBL), and non-fodder beet high quality (NFBH), Select (SEL) and Top Choice (TCH). Samples were aged until 21 or 35 d postmortem. Extending postmortem aging positively influenced (P < 0.05) New Zealand non-fodder beet samples, but largely had no effect (P > 0.05) on New Zealand fodder beet samples, with the exception that tenderness was improved (P < 0.05). Postmortem aging had a negative impact (P < 0.05) on SEL juiciness and TC flavor and overall liking and no impact (P > 0.05) on all remaining traits of US grain fed beef loin steaks. When focusing on the high eating quality samples, consumers did not discriminate between finishing systems when samples were aged 35 d, scoring TCH, FBH, and NFBH similarly (P > 0.05) for all palatability traits. The FBL and NFBL were normally scored similarly (P > 0.05) or with a slight advantage over SEL, regardless of aging period. Ultimately, finishing beef cattle using fodder beet in New Zealand can be a viable option to supply high quality beef during winter months, while maintaining the eating quality expectations associated with “grass-fed” beef according to US consumers from the Lubbock, TX area.

The Effect of Finishing Diet on Consumer Perception of Enhanced and Non-Enhanced Honduran Beef

The effects of experimental finishing diets and enhancement were tested to determine if they could improve Honduran beef palatability. Fifteen enhanced (ENH) and non-enhanced (NE) paired loins from 7 different finishing diets (n = 210 loins) were fed to Honduran consumers (n = 288). Diets consisted of a grass-finished control (CON) or diets with the inclusion of distiller’s dry grain (DDG), palm kernel meal (PKM), PKM replication (PKMR), sorghum (SORG), soybean meal and corn (SBMC), or sugarcane (SC). An interaction (P < 0.01) occurred between diet and enhancement to influence scores for all palatability traits, willingness to pay (WTP), and acceptability of traits. Consumers found enhanced samples were more tender (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts, excluding ENH- and NE-CON (P > 0.05). Without enhancement, CON was rated more tender (P < 0.05) than all other treatments, except PKMR. All ENH samples were juicier (P < 0.05) and had a flavor that was liked more (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts. Diet alone resulted in similar (P > 0.05) juiciness scores between CON, DDG, PKM, and PKMR; however, CON was rated juicier (P < 0.05) than all other treatments. Among NE samples, flavor liking scores were not different (P > 0.05) between CON, DDG, PKM, PKMR, and SBMC, and CON was liked more (P < 0.05) than SORG and SC. All enhanced steaks, except CON, had greater overall liking scores and WTP values (P < 0.05) than NE counterparts. Diet alone resulted in similar (P > 0.05) overall liking and WTP values between CON, DDG, PKM, PKMR, and SBMC, while SORG and SC were liked less overall (P < 0.05) than CON, which reduced (P < 0.05) WTP values. Experimental diets in conjunction with enhancement were able to improve the consumers’ perception of palatability traits, acceptability, and WTP.

Factors affecting lamb eating quality and the potential for their integration into an MSA sheepmeat grading model

Major efforts in the sheep industry to control eating quality have resulted in reduced product variability. Yet inconsistent eating quality for consumers remains, due to a degree of inaccurate representation of cut quality. Eating quality defined through a complex interplay of different factors can be predicted for individual cuts, and Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading schemes have been developed to achieve these defined quality outcomes. This review outlines the justifications to refine the current sheepmeat MSA pathways system to transition into a cuts-based prediction model and details some of the factors affecting sheepmeat eating quality as key factors under consideration into the new model. The development of the new sheepmeat MSA prediction model will allow for more efficient carcass sorting to underpin a value based payment system throughout the supply chain. However it requires the inclusion of individual carcass yield and eating quality measurements (i.e. IMF). Furthermore, the adoption challenges internationally of an MSA like model are discussed.