Comparison of growth rates in the tissues of primal cuts of Canadian composites

Beef composites (C) have combined favourable traits of pure breeds. The objective was to compare the growth rates (GR) of muscle (M) and fat (F) in the primal cuts of serially harvested Beefbooster® C types (SM = C of small breeds, AH = C of Angus and Hereford and GLC = C with Gelbvieh, Limousin or Charolais terminal sires) from 274 - 456 days (d) of age to determine harvest times that reflect an increase M and a decrease F. Analysis of covariance obtained the slopes (GR/d) for M and F within each cut and C type. In the SM and AH the GR of overall F in all primal cuts exceeded that of M by 24.8 g/d and 4.91g/d respectively, while in GLC the gain of M exceeded that of F by 6.77 g/d. We suggest that the SM and AH could be harvested at least 30 d earlier than GLC thereby increasing the proportion of carcass M and decreasing F

Meat and sensory quality of major muscles from Angus, Charolais, and Angus crossbred steers with high and low residual feed intake

Effects of residual feed intake (RFI) and genetic group on growth, carcass, and meat quality characteristics of bovine longissimus lumborum (LL), triceps brachii (TB), semimembranosus (SM), and gluteus medius (GM) muscles were investigated using 72 purebred Angus, purebred Charolais, and Angus crossbred steers (n = 24 per genetic group) classified as either high (inefficient) or low (efficient) RFI (n = 12 high and low RFI steers within genetic group). There was no RFI effect (P > 0.05) on growth, carcass, and meat quality measurements except high RFI steers had the highest dry matter intake (P < 0.05), and low RFI TB was rated as having reduced beef flavour intensity and sustained juiciness (P < 0.05). Purebred Angus and Charolais LL and GM had lower shear force values (P < 0.05) than Angus crossbreds and ageing reduced mean shear force values except in TB. For TB, SM, and GM, Angus crossbred steers had the highest mean beef flavour intensity scores, and Charolais SM and TB were less tender than those of Angus crossbred (P < 0.05). Overall, RFI did not influence most meat quality traits; therefore, low RFI animals may contribute to reducing feed costs or environmental impact without compromising meat quality and palatability.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author