S. K. Duckett

Prediction of color, texture, and sensory characteristics of beef steaks by visible and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. A feasibility study.

Color, instrumental texture, and sensory attributes of steaks from 24 beef carcasses at 2, 4, 8, 14, and 21 days post mortem were predicted by visible/near infrared (visible/NIR) reflectance spectroscopy in 400-1080 nm region. Predicting the Hunter a, b, and E* yielded the coefficient of determination (R(2)) in calibration to be 0.78-0.90, and R(2) was between 0.49 and 0.55 for tenderness, Hunter L, sensory chewiness and juiciness. The prediction R(2) for tenderness was in the range of 0.22-0.72 when the samples were segregated according to the aging days. Based on partial least square (PLS) model predicted tenderness, beef samples were classified into tender and tough classes with a correct classification of 83%. Soft independent modeling of class analogy of principal component analysis (SIMCA/PCA) model of measured tenderness showed great promise in the classification of tender and tough meats with over 96% success.

Effect of vitamin C addition to ground beef from grass-fed or grain-fed sources on color and lipid stability, and prediction of fatty acid composition by near-infrared reflectance analysis.

Research was conducted to determine the effect of postmortem vitamin C addition (VITC) versus no VITC (CONTROL) to ground beef from grass-fed (GRASS) or grain-fed (GRAIN) sources on color and lipid stability during 8 days of illuminated display at 4 °C. The use of near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy to predict the fatty acid composition of ground beef and its potential to discriminate samples from different nutritional backgrounds were also evaluated. Total lipid content of ground beef was 53% lower (P<0.05) for GRASS than GRAIN. Ground beef from GRASS had greater (P<0.01) percentages of saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids, and lower (P<0.01) percentages of monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids than GRAIN. For GRAIN, VITC reduced (P<0.01) lipid oxidation, and resulted in darker (P<0.01) and redder (P<0.01) color of the ground beef from 2 to 8 days of display compared to CONTROL. For GRASS, lipid oxidation did not differ (P>0.05) for VITC and CONTROL. VITC improved (P<0.01) color stability by prolonging more red color in GRASS during 8 days of display. Results from partial least squares modeling showed accurate predictions using NIR for total saturated [standard error of performance (SEP=1.16%), coefficient of determination on the validation set (r(2)=0.87)] and unsaturated (SEP=1.18% and r(2)=0.90) fatty acid contents of ground beef, as well as the composition of stearic, oleic, and linolenic (SEP=1.2%, 1.27%, and 0.07%; r(2)=0.91, 0.92, and 0.93, respectively). However, the composition of other individual fatty acids was poorly predicted. VITC was effective in retarding pigment oxidation in ground beef from both GRAIN and GRASS; however, VITC reduced lipid oxidation in GRAIN samples only, despite higher PUFA percentages in GRASS. NIR can be used to predict accurately the content of total saturated and unsaturated, and stearic, oleic, and linolenic fatty acids in ground beef. NIR showed potential to discriminate meat samples originating from different feeding production systems.

Fatty acid composition and interrelationships among eight retail cuts of grass-feed beef.

The aim of this research was to evaluate: 1) fatty acid (FA) profile of eight retail cuts (eye of round, ribeye, top round, striploin, tenderloin, top-sirloin, underblade, ground beef) from grass-fed steers, 2) the association between striploin (longissimus muscle) FA profile and that from the other retail cuts, and 3) the changes in FA profile associated with retail cut total FA content. All of the retail cuts, except underblade and ground beef, would be considered lean (<10 g) based on total FA content. Total saturated fatty acids were positively correlated to total FA content; whereas, negative correlations were observed with total FA content and total monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. No correlation was observed between total FA and CLA cis-9, trans-11. Striploin trans-11 C18:1 and CLA cis-9, trans-11 proportions, and n-6:n-3 ratio were positive and highly correlated with those in the other retail cuts.