U. S. consumer perceptions of U. S. and Canadian beef quality grades

Development and validation of the Canadian retail cut beef yield grades

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) system has five retail cut yield (RCY) classes, whereas the former Canadian system had three total lean yield (TLY) classes. A total of 720 beef carcasses were used to develop a modified grade ruler, harmonizing the Canadian grades into five classes. Beef carcasses (n = 750) from three Canadian federally inspected facilities were graded using both USDA and Canadian (harmonized ruler) systems for external validation. Agreement between the USDA-RCY and the Canadian TLY was high (R2 = 0.80). The validation between the harmonized ruler and the USDA-RCY showed a standard deviation of the difference of 1.32 and a coefficient of concordance of 0.83.

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.

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.

Honduran and U.S. Consumer Assessment of Beef from Various Production Systems with or Without Marinating

Our objective was to evaluate the effects of different Honduran cattle production systems, enhancement, and country of origin on palatability of the longissimus muscle aged 21 d postmortem as determined by U.S. and Honduran consumers (n = 240/country). U.S.-sourced strip loins (n = 10/treatment) were selected: USDA Select (SE) and Top (upper 2/3) Choice (TC). Honduran-sourced strip loins (n = 10/treatment) included: 1) dual-purpose bulls, raised on native pasture (HDP), 2) F1 crossbred Brahman bulls finished on a corn-based grain diet for 180 d (HCF), and 3) purebred Brahman bulls finished on a sugarcane-based diet for 180 d (HSC). Ten additional strip loins from each Honduran treatment were selected and enhanced (E; 112% ± 3.5%) with water, salt, and tripolyphosphate, resulting in EHDP, EHCF, and EHSC. Steaks were cooked to 77°C prior to consumer evaluation of tenderness, juiciness, and flavor and overall liking, with classification of each trait as acceptable or unacceptable. Consumers indicated if they were willing to pay 0, 3, 6, or 10 USD/0.45 kg. Consumer data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS as a split plot design, with treatment as the whole plot factor and country and the country × treatment interaction as the subplot factors, including panel as a random effect. The EHCF had greater (P < 0.05) scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavor and overall liking. No differences (P > 0.05) were found between TC and SE when scoring palatability traits, but more (P < 0.05) consumers found TC acceptable for juiciness compared to SE. Honduran consumers ranked all palatability traits greater than U.S consumers and found a greater percentage of samples acceptable for tenderness (P < 0.05). Enhancement of Honduran treatments had a positive effect on palatability traits, as well as the acceptability of those traits. Regardless of the differences in breeds, using high-energy diets and enhancement resulted in greater palatability scores.

Instrumental meat quality characteristics associated with aged m. longissimus thoracis from the four Canadian beef quality grades

Canadian beef is quality graded to characterize the potential eating quality of the cooked product. Instrumental meat quality characteristics of 48 m. longissimus thoracis (LT, rib eye) from four Canadian beef grades (Canada A, AA, AAA, and Prime, n = 12) before and after an additional 14-d aging were compared using a split plot design with grade, aging, and their interaction as fixed sources of variation. Mean percentage intramuscular fat was greatest in Canada Prime muscle and least in Canada A and AA muscles (P < 0.0001), whereas mean percentage drip loss was lower in Canada Prime muscle than in muscle from all other grades (P = 0.0348). Canada Prime and AAA muscles were redder and yellower than muscles from other grades even after aging (P < 0.03), which may be associated with increased fat content and indicative of accelerated myoglobin oxidation and increased myoglobin oxygenation. Shear force was not different among the Canada grades, although the differences between Canada AA cooked beef LT and that of Canada Prime and AAA carcasses approached significance (P = 0.0993). Results indicated that Canada quality grades did not differentiate beef on cooked product tenderness, substantiating that muscle compositional characteristics alone define beef grade advantages.

Integrating Genomics with Nutrition Models to Improve the Prediction of Cattle Performance and Carcass Composition under Feedlot Conditions

Cattle body composition is difficult to model because several factors affect the composition of the average daily gain (ADG) of growing animals. The objective of this study was to identify commercial single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels that could improve the predictability of days on feed (DOF) to reach a target United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grade given animal, diet, and environmental information under feedyard conditions. The data for this study was comprised of crossbred heifers (n = 681) and steers (n = 836) from commercial feedyards. Eleven molecular breeding value (MBV) scores derived from SNP panels of candidate gene polymorphisms and two-leptin gene SNP (UASMS2 and E2FB) were evaluated. The empty body fat (EBF) and the shrunk body weight (SBW) at 28% EBF (AFSBW) were computed by the Cattle Value Discovery System (CVDS) model using hip height (EBF_HH and AFSBW_HH) or carcass traits (EBF_CT and AFSBW_CT) of the animals. The DOF_HH was calculated when AFSBW_HH and ADG_HH were used and DOF_CT was calculated when AFSBW_CT and ADG_CT were used. The CVDS estimates dry matter required (DMR) by individuals fed in groups when observed ADG and AFSBW are provided. The AFSBW_CT was assumed more accurate than the AFSBW_HH because it was computed using carcass traits. The difference between AFSBW_CT and AFSBW_HH, DOF_CT and DOF_HH, and DMR and dry matter intake (DMI) were regressed on the MBV scores and leptin gene SNP to explain the variation. Our results indicate quite a large range of correlations among MBV scores and model input and output variables, but MBV ribeye area was the most strongly correlated with the differences in DOF, AFSBW, and DMI by explaining 8, 13.2 and 6.5%, respectively, of the variation. This suggests that specific MBV scores might explain additional variation of input and output variables used by nutritional models in predicting individual animal performance.

Beef flavor: a review from chemistry to consumer

This paper briefly reviews research that describes the sensation, generation and consumer acceptance of beef flavor. Humans sense the five basic tastes in their taste buds, and receptors in the nasal and sinus cavities sense aromas. Additionally, trigeminal senses such as metallic and astringent are sensed in the oral and nasal cavities and can have an effect on the flavor of beef. Flavors are generated from a complex interaction of tastes, tactile senses and aromas taken collectively throughout the tongue, nasal, sinus and oral cavities. Cooking beef generates compounds that contribute to these senses and result in beef flavor, and the factors that are involved in the cookery process determine the amount and type of these compounds and therefore the flavor generated. A low-heat, slow cooking method generates primarily lipid degradation products, while high-heat, fast cookery generates more Maillard reaction products. The science of consumer acceptance, cluster analyses and drawing relationships among all flavor determinants is a relatively new discipline in beef flavor. Consumers rate beef that has lipid degradation products generated from a low degree of doneness and Maillard flavor products from fast, hot cookery the highest in overall liking, and current research has shown that strong relationships exist between beef flavor and consumer acceptability, even more so than juiciness or tenderness.