Carcass quality characteristics were measured on 511 steers of 4 breeds that
were destined for the Japanese market. All steers had carcass measurements
taken at the 10th/11th rib interface, while 103 steers had additional
measurements made on the same characteristics at the 5th/6th rib
interface.
Australian marbling score, longissimus muscle area,
intramuscular fat percentage, intramuscular water content, Japanese
intermuscular fat thickness, Japanese subcutaneous fat thickness, Japanese rib
thickness, and meat pH were measured in the study. These measurements allowed
the phenotypic relationships between the different carcass quality traits
measured at the 10th/11th rib interface to be calculated. Significant
positive correlations were observed among measurements of carcass fatness, and
significant negative correlations were observed between carcass fatness and
carcass water content. Angus and Murray Grey cattle had higher levels of
marbling and intramuscular fat than Hereford and Poll Hereford cattle
The data enabled Australian, USDA, and Japanese marbling standards to be
compared on the basis of intramuscular fat percentage determined by an ether
extraction process. Differences between the same carcass characteristics taken
at 5th/6th and 10/11th rib interfaces of
the longissimus dorsi were estimated from the 103 steers
measured at both sites. Correlations between the rib sites were high for
marbling, intramuscular fat, and intramuscular water, but low for
longissimus muscle area, intermuscular fat thickness,
and pH.
The influence of genotype, sex, and dietary lysine on carcass quality characteristics of 230 and 280 lb finishing pigs
