Importance of steak origin to restaurant customers

Introduction Today, consumers are more informed about the origin of their food due to the desire to have confidence in the safety of their food. This need for information has lead to an increase in demand for even higher levels of safety and quality (Unnevehr, 2003). Currently, traceability and source-verification are considered indicators of beef quality and safety by consumers. Mennecke et al. (2007) found that consumers place a high precedence on any information that can relate to the origin and production of their food. Research also indicates there could be preference for U.S. beef, especially beef from the Midwest (Mennecke et al., 2007). With the advent of animal identification systems, opportunities are increasing to provide source-verified beef to restaurant patrons. Restaurants and producers could create a niche market by offering products that are either source-verified or traceable from farm to restaurant. In order for this to be a viable option there has to be a financial incentive. Dickenson and Bailey (2002) along with Loureiro and Umberger (2007) found a majority of consumers are willing to pay more for a red-meat product that has a confirmed traceability. Patrons in high-end restaurants often have more disposable income and are willing to pay more for a premium product. Also, trends popular in high-end restaurants are frequently emulated in more casual restaurants. Dickenson and Bailey (2002) report discussed a need to verify their results by conducting a retail study. Placing source-verfied meat in high-end restaurants and testing if consumers will pay a premium for products with various forms of traceability is one way to verify their findings. The objectives of this research were to determine factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions in high-end restaurants. From there, it was possible to discover if consumers were interested in knowing the origin of their beef and the extent to which they were willing to pay a premium for this information

The Effects of Diet and Cooler Aging on Specific Flavor Notes in Beef

Crossbred steers (n = 64) were grazed on warm- or cool-season grass-dominated pastures, without or with energy supplementation of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS), and were finished on a corn-based diet with or without 35% WDGS. Finishing on corn increased desirable flavor notes and decreasedundesirable flavor notes in both L. dorsi and B. femoris steaks. In addition, grazing on warm-season grasses increased the prevalence of undesirable flavors but was often dissipated by the addition WDGS supplementation. Longer aging periods tended to increase the prevalence of undesirable flavors, especially in B. femoris steaks. It is recommended producers provide WDGS supplementation, especially when grazing on warm-season grasses, and finish on an all corn diet in order to create a favorable flavor palate

Production Management Factors Affecting Inherent Beef Flavor: The Role of Post-Weaning Forage, Energy Supplementation, Finishing Diets, and Aging Periods

Projects were conducted to determine effects of diet and aging periods on inherent beef flavor characteristics by relating biochemical constituents of meat, consumer acceptability, and lexicon flavor notes of two different muscles. Prediction equations were also created. Warm-season grasses caused increased concentrations of moisture, heme iron, and zinc in L. dorsi steaks. Aging 28 d instead of 7 d caused increased pH, carbohydrate, and heme and non-heme iron concentrations in B. femoris steaks. Warm-season grasses caused decreased concentrations in a majority of fatty acids, specifically when supplementation was not provided. Few differences were observed with cool-season grasses. Provision of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) as a supplemental energy source minimized a majority of effects. Aging longer than 7 d tended to dissipate desirability differences in both muscles. Finishing on WDGS, especially after supplementing with WDGS, caused declines in several consumer panel scores in L. dorsi steaks. Warm-season grasses were most detrimental towards consumer panel scores in B. femoris steaks. The least desirable flavor notes were associated with warm-season grasses most of which were improved with supplementation in both muscles. Clearly, grass type is important for both flavor development and consumer preference. Even though several of the meat principle components were found to significantly influence consumer panel and lexicon flavor note scores, the regression coefficients were small. Several regression coefficients between lexicon notes and consumer panel scores were not only significant, but also large suggesting they may be good predictors of consumer acceptability. A majority of the lexicon flavor notes were shown to be altered by diet and aging. Grazing on cool-season grasses, or supplementing while being grazed on warm-season grasses, can alter flavor notes to create a product that is highly desirable to consumers. Providing supplementation, finishing on an all corn diet, and aging the meat also promoted desirable flavors. Advisor Chris R. Calkin

Shelf Life of Cooked Ground Beef Patties From Cattle Fed Wet Distillers Grains with Solubles

Cattle were grazed without or with energy supplementation of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) during backgrounding, and were finished on a corn-based diet with or without 35% WDGS. Ground beef patties were made from shoulder clods, cooked, and stored in a refrigerated or frozen state. Cattle supplemented with WDGS had greater lipid oxidation in cooked ground beef patties regardless of finishing diet or storage type

Marketing Source-Verified Beef to Restaurant Patrons

To determine consumer ordering behaviors in high-end restaurants and to see if consumers are interested in the origin of their beef, both an online survey and in-restaurant taste testing were conducted. About two-thirds of the participants in the in-restaurant taste testing ordered the steak with either the state or farm-of-origin description. Compared to a non-source verified steak, taste participants were willing to pay $4.74 more for the steak with the state-of-origin description, and$8.75 more for the steak with the farm-of-origin description. Almost all of the participants acknowledged the best beef comes from the Midwest, specifically naming Nebraska as a state that raises high-quality beef. These data suggest there is consumer interest in a source-verified beef product in high-end restaurants

The Effects of Diet and Cooler Aging on Consumer Panel Scores for Beef

Crossbred steers (n = 64) grazed warm- or cool-season grasses, without or with energy supplementation of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS), and were finished on a corn-based diet with or without 35% WDGS. Finishing cattle on WDGS, especially after beingsupplemented with WDGS, caused declinesin flavor desirability scores of L. dorsi steaks. Conversely, grass type was more influential in B. femoris steaks with warm-season grasses generating lower consumer panel scores. Scores were not different from each other when supplementation was provided. It is recommended that producers provide WDGS supplementation and finish on an all-corn diet in order to create the most pleasurable eating experience for consumers

Effects of Feeding Distillers Grains in a Yearling Beef System on Meat Quality

Distillers grains use while wintering on cornstalks during summer grazing and during the finishing period was evaluated to determine the effects of lifetime exposure to distillers grains on meat characteristics. Finishing diets with distillers grains increased discoloration in steaks following six days of retail display for steaks aged seven days, and after four days of retail display for steaks aged 21 days. Supplementation during summer grazing increased discoloration when cattle were not finished using distillers grains. There were no differences in oxidative rancidity among dietary treatments. Supplementing with distillers grains prior to finishing was not additive in impacting the color stability and overall shelf life of retail beef when cattle were finished using distillers grains. However, polyunsaturated fatty acids fed during the backgrounding phase can affect beef quality

Grass Type, Grazing Supplementation, and Finishing Diets Affect Beef Fatty Acids

Crossbred steers (n = 64) were grazed on warm- or cool-season grasses, without or with energy supplementation of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS), and were finished on a corn-based diet with or without 35% WDGS. Grass type was the major contributor in determining the fatty acid profile, especially in the neutral lipid layer. Warm-season grasses decreased concentrations of most fatty acids compared to cool-season grasses. The provision of WDGS as an energy supplement while grazing dissipated any differences caused by grass type

The Effects of Diet on the Biochemical Constituents of Beef

Crossbred steers (n = 64) were grazed on warm- or cool-season grasses, without or with energy supplementation of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS), and were finished on a corn-based diet with or without 35% WDGS. Grass-type was the major contributor in determining the biochemical composition of L. dorsi steaks, with warm-season grasses causing increased concentrations of moisture and zinc and decreased concentrations of magnesium. Aging 28 days instead of 7 days increased pH and caused an increased concentration of carbohydrates, and non-heme and heme iron in B. femoris steaks. Diet, especially grass type, during grazing, can alter the end composition of beef