Relationship of texture profile analysis and Warner-Bratzler shear force with sensory characteristics of beef rib steaks

Cyclical texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters measured using a star-shaped probe with two cycles of 80% penetration and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) were compared as predictors of objective tenderness and subjective sensory characteristics of rib steaks from 52 beef loins. The TPA parameters of hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness were negatively correlated (P<0.05) with trained panel sensory characteristics of initial tenderness (r=−0.64, −0.41, −0.62, respectively), amount of connective tissue (r=−0.57, −0.27, −0.55, respectively), overall tenderness (r=−0.68, −0.39, −0.64, respectively) and overall palatability (r=−0.56, −0.37, −0.53, respectively). These sensory characteristics were also negatively correlated (P<0.05) with WBS (r=−0.61, −0.49, −0.60, −0.56, respectively). Stepwise regression analysis generated prediction equations that included the TPA parameters of hardness and adhesiveness, which accounted for 47, 36, 51 and 38% of the variation in initial tenderness, amount of connective tissue, overall tenderness and overall palatability, respectively. Prediction equations using WBS accounted for 37, 24, 36 and 31% of the variation in initial tenderness, amount of connective tissue, overall tenderness and overall palatability, respectively. Hence, TPA explained more of the variation in subjective sensory tenderness of the rib steaks than WBS.     

Effects of breed and a concentrate or grass silage diet on beef quality in cattle of 3 ages. II: Meat stability and flavour

This study examined the effect of breed and diet on meat quality, defined as lipid stability, colour shelf life and sensory quality. Ninety-six steers were used, half Aberdeen Angus (AA) cross and half Holstein-Friesian (HF). They were reared from 6 months of age on a standard concentrate diet or grass silage and slaughtered at 14, 19 or 24 months of age. Breed had small effects on quality with lower lipid stability in muscle of 24 month-old HF (P<0.05). Sensory scores were similar between the breeds, the few differences being in favour of AA. Diet had the biggest effects on meat quality, in all 3 age groups. The grass silage diet produced higher plasma and muscle levels of vitamin E, lower lipid oxidation in loin steaks measured at 4 and 7 days of retail display and better colour stability (saturation) during shelf life in MAP (O(2):CO(2); 75:25) (all P<0.001). The high values for lipid oxidation in the concentrate-fed steers were linked to high muscle PUFA concentrations and low levels of vitamin E.     

Response surface modeling to predict fluid loss from beef strip loins and steaks injected with salt and phosphate with or without a dehydrated beef protein water binding adjunct

This study was conducted using response surface methodology to predict fluid loss from injected beef strip steaks as influenced by levels of salt and sodium phosphates (SP) in the injection brine. Also, a beef-based dehydrated beef protein (DBP) water binding ingredient was evaluated. Paired U.S. select beef strip loins were quartered before being injected with 110% of initial weight with brines containing various concentrations of salt and SP (CON) or salt, SP and 5% DBP. Steaks were sliced, overwrapped and stored in the dark for 4 d. Purge values ranged from 0.6% to 4.6% for CON and 0.3% to 2.1% for DBP. Fluid losses when accounting for the fluid lost from injection to slicing were as high as 6.8% for CON brines, but only 2.8% for DBP brines. The equations generated here and the DBP product could help producers achieve acceptable purge while reducing sodium use.     

Carcass, sensory, fat color, and consumer acceptance characteristics of Angus-cross steers finished on ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) forage or on a high-concentrate diet

Fall-born Angus-cross steers (n = 30) from 1 of 2 sires, were randomly assigned to either an 85% corn, 7.5% cotton-seed hulls, and 7.5% vitamin/mineral/urea supplement diet (GRAIN), 100% ryegrass grazing (RG), or ryegrass grazing then the GRAIN diet for 94 d (RG/GRAIN). USDA Yield Grade of steers finished on either the GRAIN or RG/GRAIN regimens were higher (P < 0.02) compared to those finished on RG. Marbling score and USDA Quality Grade did not differ (P = 0.21 and 0.12, respectively) among the three finishing regimens. Yellowness (b^∗) values of the subcutaneous fat from both strip loins (SL) and ribeye (RE) rolls was lowest (P < 0.05) in cuts taken from steers finished on GRAIN. Subcutaneous fat of both SL and RE had lower L^∗ and hue angle values, and higher a^∗ and b^∗ values before trimming than after the fat was trimmed to 0.3 cm. Initial and sustained tenderness scores of SL from steers finished on GRAIN were higher when compared to RG/GRAIN or RG regimens (P < 0.05). Flavor intensity and beef flavor scores were higher (P < 0.05) for SL from GRAIN- or RG/GRAIN-finished steers compared to RG-finished steers. GRAIN SL had lower (P < 0.05) WBSF values than RG, but similar (P > 0.05) to RG/GRAIN. Trained sensory tenderness and flavor scores and WBSF values for RE were not affected by finishing regimen (P > 0.05). GRAIN steaks had a higher consumer overall acceptability score, average price/kg, and rank (P < 0.05). While carcass, fat, and sensory disadvantages were present in RG cattle, the overall magnitude of the differences compared to GRAIN cattle was fairly small.     

In-home consumer and shear force evaluation of steaks from the M. serratus ventralis thoracis

The M. serratus ventralis thoracis was obtained from US Select arm chucks (n = 87) to investigate if this underutilized muscle can be used as a steak alternative. Muscles were assigned randomly into three treatment groups: (1) control; (2) blade tenderization; and (3) injection, containing salt, phosphate, and papain. Steaks were cut from each muscle for in-home consumer evaluation (n = 136) and Warner–Bratzler shear (WBS) force determination. The WBS values for injected steaks (13.1 N) were lower (P < 0.05) than for blade-tenderized (18.4 N) and control (19.9 N) steaks. Tenderness ratings for the injected steaks were higher (P < 0.05) compared to the other treatments when steaks were grilled, oven prepared or were cooked in a skillet; however, this improvement did not significantly influence overall like scores for steaks that were oven prepared or cooked in a skillet. For the most part, degree of doneness did not significantly impact consumer evaluations of steaks prepared by the various cooking methods. However, there was a treatment × degree of doneness interaction for grilled-cooked steaks where increased doneness for blade-tenderized and injected steaks resulted in increased palatability ratings, whereas increased doneness for control steaks generally resulted in lowered palatability ratings. Consumer ratings and WBS values for the M. serratus ventralis thoracis indicate that merchandising steaks from this muscle may be a viable option in the marketplace, especially if blade tenderization or injection processes are used for further enhancement.     

Eating quality of young bulls from three Spanish beef breed-production systems and its relationships with chemical and instrumental meat quality

Sensory characteristics of longissimus thoracis muscle from three local Spanish beef breed-production systems and their relationships with chemical and instrumental meat quality traits were studied. Young bulls of Bruna dels Pirineus (BP; n = 69), Avileña-Negra Ibérica (A-NI; n = 70) and Morucha (MO; n = 70) breeds were reared in their own production systems. MO breed showed the highest water holding capacity and also the highest thawing loss and haem pigment content (P < 0.001). No differences in moisture and protein contents were found among breeds. A-NI showed the highest intramuscular fat (IMF, P < 0.05) and total collagen (P < 0.001) contents, whereas BP showed the lowest IMF content (P < 0.05) and the highest collagen solubility (P < 0.001). Beef flavour, tenderness and juiciness accounted for the eating quality differences among the three breed-production systems. Meat from A-NI was rated significantly higher (P < 0.01) for beef flavour and tenderness than that from BP and MO animals. Furthermore, MO showed the lowest juiciness (P < 0.001) which could be due to its higher thawing loss. Within the three breeds, thawing loss was negatively correlated with juiciness and, likewise cooking loss with juiciness and tenderness (P < 0.05). The canonical discriminant analysis showed that the three breeds were significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other according to sensory attributes, which justifies their involvement in different protected geographical indications (PGI).     

Dry versus wet aging of beef: Retail cutting yields and consumer sensory attribute evaluations of steaks from ribeyes, strip loins, and top sirloins from two quality grade groups

Top Choice (n=48) and Select (n=48) paired bone-in ribeye rolls, bone-in strip loins, and boneless top sirloin butts were assigned randomly to one of two aging treatments, dry or wet, and were aged for 14, 21, 28 or 35d. Cutting tests, performed to determine retail yields and processing times, showed dry-aged subprimals had lower total saleable yield percentages and increased processing times compared to wet-aged subprimals. Sensory and Warner-Bratzler shear evaluation was conducted to determine palatability characteristics. For the most part, aging treatment and aging period did not affect consumer sensory attributes. However, ribeye and top loin steaks from the Top Choice quality grade group received higher sensory ratings than their Select counterparts. For top sirloin steaks, no consumer sensory attributes were affected by aging treatment, aging period, or quality grade group.     

Marination with natural curing ingredients, storage time, and serving temperature effects on the sensory characteristics of forage-finished or commercially-sourced beef roasts

Beef inside round roasts (n = 144) were cut from rounds obtained from both forage-finished cattle (n = 72) and commercially-sourced beef (n = 72). Roasts were portioned to weigh 0.45-0.68 kg each. Each roast was then randomly assigned one of the following treatments: control, injected-no cure, or injected-cured. Additionally, roasts were assigned a serving temperature (hot or cold) and storage treatments (0 d or 28 d post cooking). Roasts from forage-fed beef had a more red interior color and higher shear values, and also retained more brine than commercially-sourced beef (P < 0.05). Curing roasts improved TBARS values in roasts served hot and significantly reduced sensory warmed-over and grassy flavors (P < 0.05). Marinating forage-finished beef roasts significantly improves tenderness and flavor characteristics.     

Metabolomics-based component profiling of hard and semi-hard natural cheeses with gas chromatography/time-of-flight-mass spectrometry, and its application to sensory predictive modeling

Gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/TOF-MS) was used to analyze hydrophilic low molecular weight components, including amino acids, fatty acids, amines, organic acids, and saccharides, in cheese, and the sensometric application for practical metabolomic studies in the food industry is described. Derivatization of target analytes was conducted prior to the GC/TOF-MS analysis. Data on 13 cheeses, six Cheddar cheeses, six Gouda cheeses and one Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, were analyzed by multivariate analysis. The uniqueness of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese metabolome was revealed. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed no grouping of the Cheddar cheeses and Gouda cheeses according to production method or country of origin. The PCA loading plot confirms that many amino acids contribute positively to PC1, suggesting that PC1 is closely related to degradation of proteins, and that lactic acid contributed positively to PC2, whereas glycerol contributed negatively to PC2, suggesting that factors regarding degradation of carbohydrates and fats were expressed in PC2. Partial least squares (PLS) regression models were constructed to predict the relationship between the metabolite profile and two sensory attributes, "Rich flavor" and "Sour flavor", which were related to maturation. The compounds that play an important role in constructing each sensory prediction model were identified as 12 amino acids and lactose for "Rich flavor", and 4-aminobutyric acid, ornithine, succinic acid, lactic acid, proline and lactose for "Sour flavor". The present study revealed that metabolomics-based component profiling, focusing on hydrophilic low molecular weight components, was able to predict the sensory characteristics related to ripening.     

Effect of varying the gas headspace to meat ratio on the quality and shelf-life of beef steaks packaged in high oxygen modified atmosphere packs

Beef steaks (M. longissimus dorsi) were stored in modified atmosphere packs (MAP) (80% O₂:20% CO₂) with gas headspace to meat ratios of 2:1, 1:1 and 0.5:1 for 14 days at 4 °C. The pH, surface colour, texture and microbiology of beef steaks were unaffected (P > 0.05) by varying the gas headspace to meat ratio. APLSR (ANOVA-partial least squares regression) and jack-knife uncertainty testing indicated that lipid oxidation (TBARS) was significantly positively correlated with days 10 (P < 0.05) and 14 (P < 0.001) of storage. Chemical and sensory detection of lipid oxidation in beef steaks were in agreement on day 14 of storage. The sensory quality and acceptability of beef steaks were similar in gas headspace to meat ratios of 2:1 or 1:1 and unacceptable in 0.5:1. Results indicate that pack size and gas volume can be reduced without negatively affecting fresh beef quality and shelf-life.     

Relationships of slice shear force and Warner-Bratzler shear force of beef strip loin steaks as related to the tenderness gradient of the strip loin

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of steak location within a strip loin and USDA quality grade on muscle fiber angle, slice shear force (SSF), and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and to determine the relationship between SSF and WBSF. Steak location influenced both SSF and WBSF values, as steaks from the anterior portion were typically tenderer than steaks from the posterior end. Although there is some discrepancy between the two shear force methods, both agree that at least the first 5 anterior-most steaks are comparable. Muscle fiber angle was affected by steak position within the strip loin, as the fiber angle shifted between steaks 7 and 8. Quality grade had a significant effect on beef tenderness for both SSF and WBSF. Finally, there was a strong relationship between lateral SSF and average WBSF (r = 0.64), which are currently the most commonly used measurements for instrumental tenderness.     

Extension of the shelf life of beef steaks packaged in a modified atmosphere by treatment with rosemary and displayed under UV-free lighting

Fresh beef steaks, either sprayed on the surface with a solution of rosemary and vitamin C or not sprayed, were packaged in 70%O₂₊20%CO₂₊10%N₂ and displayed at 1±1 °C without illumination or illuminated by a standard fluorescent lamp, a low-UV, colour-balanced lamp (Promolux®), or the fluorescent lamp with a UV filter. Metmyoglobin formation, lipid oxidation (2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), instrumental colour (CIE L*, a*, b*), psychrotrophic bacterial counts (PCA) and sensory discolouration and off-odour were determined. Results showed that the use of the antioxidant mixture of rosemary and vitamin C together with the absence of UV radiation significantly reduced the rates of metmyoglobin formation and lipid oxidation, as well as microbial growth, and extended the display life from about 10 to about 20 days.     

Feeding microalgae at a high level to finishing heifers increases the long‐chain n‐3 fatty acid composition of beef with only small effects on the sensory quality

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of feeding a low and high level of microalgae (MA, high in C22:6n‐3) on the fatty acid (FA) composition and sensory attributes of beef. Thirty Charolais cross Limousin/Friesian heifers were fed one of the three diets (n = 10 per treatment): Control (no MA), low MA (LMA; inclusion rate of 15 g kg^?1) or high MA (HMA; inclusion rate of 30 g kg^?1) for 95 days before slaughter. Heifers fed HMA had a higher (P < 0.05) content of C20:5n‐3: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and C22:6n‐3: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the longissimus thoracis muscle than those receiving the Control (mean values for EPA of 0.5, 0.92, 1.20 and DHA of 0.31, 0.89 and 1.05 % of total FA for Control, LMA and HMA, respectively), and a lower n‐3 to n‐6 ratio (2.9, 1.9 and 1.6 in Control, LMA and HMA, respectively; P < 0.001). Steaks from animals fed either of the MA diets had a marginally higher (P < 0.05) ‘seaweedy flavour’ that was positively correlated with muscle C22:6n‐3 concentration. Steaks from animals fed HMA were rated as being higher (P < 0.05) in tenderness and had a lower (P < 0.05) shear force than those from Control fed animals. It is concluded that feeding microalgae at high levels can beneficially improve the health attributes of beef with only a few effects on sensory quality.     

Use of preference mapping to relate consumer preference to the sensory properties of a processed meat product (tinned cat food)

The technique of generalised Procrustes analysis was applied to laboratory panel assessments of appearance, texture and aroma properties of ten commercial variants of tinned cat food. These assessments were made using free-choice profiling and were compared with results obtained from a subsequent fixed-choice profiling experiment. A consumer trial was also performed in a local supermarket to collect preference scores for the cat food, and these scores were related to the laboratory assessments using preference mapping. These techniques can be used by product developers to ascertain the properties of meat products that are important in determining consumer preference.     

Contributions of non-volatile and volatile compounds to the umami taste and overall flavour of shiitake mushroom extracts and their application as flavour enhancers in cooked minced meat

Aqueous extracts of dried shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) were prepared as taste and flavour enhancers for meat formulations. Effects of time and temperature on the chemical and sensory properties of the extracts were examined. Extracts prepared at 70 °C had significantly higher concentrations (p < 0.001) of the savoury tasting 5′-ribonucleotides than those prepared at 22 °C but increasing the extraction time from 30 to 360 min only increased their recovery slightly (p = 0.053). In contrast, higher temperature extracts had considerably smaller concentrations of the major volatile compounds, such as lenthionine, 1-octen-3-ol, 1,3-dithiethane and dimethyl disulfide, because of loss through volatilisation.     

Application of cranberry concentrate (Vaccinium macrocarpon) to control Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef and its antimicrobial mechanism related to the downregulated slp, hdeA and cfa

The possible use of cranberry concentrate (CC) as a natural food preservative was studied by examining its antimicrobial effect on the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated in ground beef, its organoleptical effect on beef patties, and its antimicrobial mechanism on the gene regulation level.     

Development of quantitative analysis for the micro-relief of the skin surface using a video microscope and its application to examination of skin surface texture

We developed a new analyzing method for characterizing a skin surface morphology image obtained easily by a video microscope. For the numerical analysis of various characteristics of the skin surface morphology, three parameters were invented; 'the width of the skin furrows,'the fineness of the skin ridges,' and 'the size of the skin pores.' The width of the skin furrows was calculated as mean width of the skin furrows. The fineness of the skin ridges was calculated as number of the skin ridges. The size of the skin pores was calculated as total area of skin pores. The analyzed parameters were compared with the clinical scores evaluated by trained experts, resulting in a high correlation (r = 0.54–0.72). Upon the age related changes in the parameters described above, the number of the skin ridges decreased at around the age of 20, and the size of the skin pores became large with aging during the teens through 40's. In the analysis of seasonal changes, the ridge parameter was high in summer, and the furrow parameter was high in winter. Upon the relationship between the images (the skin surface patterns) and the skin physiological parameters, the skin with a low barrier function (high TEWL) or that with high sebum content gave a low density of the skin ridges. From these results it seems that the image analysis of skin surface morphology using a video microscope is quite useful for an easy and simple evaluation of skin condition.