Portable vibrational spectroscopic methods can discriminate between grass-fed and grain-fed beef

The present study analysed the ability for portable near infrared reflectance (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy sensors to differentiate between grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Scans were made on lean and fat surfaces of 108 beef steak samples labelled as grass-fed ( n = 54) and grain-fed ( n = 54), with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) used to develop discrimination models which were tested on independent datasets. Furthermore, PLS-DA was used to predict visual marbling score and days on feed (DOF). The NIR spectra accurately discriminated between grass- and grain-fed beef on both fat (91.7%, n = 92) and lean (88.5%, n = 96), as did Raman (fat 95.2%, n = 82; lean 69.6%, n = 68). Fat scanning using NIR spectroscopy moderately predicted DOF (r2val = 0.53), though Raman and NIR spectroscopy lean prediction models for DOF and marbling were less precise (r2val < 0.50). It can be concluded that portable NIR and Raman spectrometers can be used successfully to differentiate grass-fed from grain-fed beef and therefore aid retail and consumer confidence.

Determining the longissimus lumborum and psoas major beef steak color life threshold and effect of post-mortem aging time using meta-analysis

longissimuslumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) steaks duringretail display and the effect of postmortem aging time (PMT) on the displaycolor life of LL and PM steaks using meta-analysis was determined. In phaseone, data were retrieved from 13 and 3 referred journal articles, for LL andPM, respectively, that included a* and subjective visual scores. The total display dayobservations for LL and PM were 148 and 27, respectively. Lower bound estimatesusing a 95% confidence interval for a* as a borderline for the display colorlife of LL and PM steaks were 20.24 and 20.99, respectively. For phase two, datawere retrieved from 26 and 10 referred journal articles, for LL and PM,respectively, that included a* and PMT. The total display dayobservations for LL and PM in phase two were 255 and 71, respectively. For LLsteaks, the actual PMT was grouped into five categories: 0-7 d; 8-14 d; 15-21d; 22-28 d; and 29-65 d. Additionally, the PMT of PM steaks was grouped intotwo categories: 0-7 d and 8-21 d. The first 21 d PMT for LL steaks had thelongest color life with 7 d of color life. Additionally, 22-28 and 29-65 d ofPMT had 5 and 4 d, respectively, of color life for LL steaks. The borderlineacceptability estimated for PM steaks with 0-7 d and 8-21 of PMT was 3 and 2 dof color life, respectively. Estimations from this meta-analysis demonstrate that usingLL and PM subprimals having a PMT of 21 d or less and 7 d or less, respectively,would optimize retail display color life of aerobically packaged steaks.&nbsp;

Palatability of high-quality New Zealand grass-finished and American grain-finished beef strip steaks

The objective of this study was to evaluate palatability of strip loin steaks from grass- and grain-fed beef across five United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) quality grades and three wet aging periods. Beef strip loins (N = 200; 20 per USDA quality grade/fed cattle type) representing five USDA quality grades [USDA Prime, Top Choice (Average and High Choice), Low Choice, Select and Standard] and two fed cattle types [New Zealand grass-finished and United States (U.S.) grain-finished] were used in the study. Each strip loin was equally portioned into thirds and randomly assigned to one of three wet aging periods (7 d, 21 d or 42 d). Consumer panelists (N = 600; 120/location: Texas, California, Florida, Kansas, and Pennsylvania) evaluated eight grilled beef steak samples for palatability traits, acceptability, and eating quality. All palatability traits were impacted by the interaction of diet × quality grade (P &lt; 0.05). Although similar (P &gt; 0.05) to grass-fed Prime steaks for juiciness, tenderness and overall liking, grain-fed Prime steaks rated greater (P &lt; 0.05) than all other grass- and grain-finished treatments for all palatability attributes. Grass-finished Top Choice, Low Choice, and Standard steaks were rated greater (P &lt; 0.05) than the respective grain-finished quality grades for juiciness and tenderness. Grain-finished Standard steaks rated lower (P &lt; 0.05) than all other grass- and grain-finished treatments for juiciness, tenderness, and overall liking; but were similar (P &gt; 0.05) to grass-finished Standard steaks for flavor liking. Our results indicate beef strip loin steaks of similar quality grades from grass-finished New Zealand cattle produce similar eating experiences when compared to those from U.S. grain-finished beef, even following extended post-mortem aging. This indicates improved palatability for consumers based on marbling without respect to grass- or grain-finishing diets.&nbsp;

Engineered Whole Cut Meats Assembled of Cell Fibers Constructed by Tendon-Gel Integrated Bioprinting

With the current interest in artificial meat, mammalian cell-based cultured meat has mostly been in minced form. There is thus still a high demand for artificial steak-like meat. Herein, we demonstrate in vitro construction of engineered steak-like meat assembled of three types of edible bovine cell fibers, such as skeletal muscle, adipose, and blood capillary fabricated by tendon-gel integrated printing (TIP) technology. Because actual meat is an anisotropically aligned assembly of the fibers connected to tendon for the actions of contraction and relaxation, TIP was discovered to construct the fiber assembly connecting tendon gels with engineered structures. In this study, a total of 72 fibers comprising 42 muscle, 28 adipose, and 2 blood capillary were constructed by TIP and subsequently assembled to fabricate a steak-like meat with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 10 mm by consulting histological images of actual Wagyu beef steak. The TIP discovered here could be a powerful manufacturing technology for fabrication of the desired types of steak-like cultured meats.

Contribution of Vitamin D2 and D3 and Their Respective 25-Hydroxy Metabolites to the Total Vitamin D Content of Beef and Lamb

Background Red meat and meat products can contribute meaningfully to the mean daily intake of vitamin D. Beef and lamb can contain vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) but also potentially vitamin D2 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 (25(OH)D2), all of which contribute to meat's vitamin D activity. Objective To measure vitamin D3, vitamin D2, 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2 content of Irish beef and lamb. Methods Full striploin steaks (Longissimus dorsi) (n = 39) from beef cattle slaughtered in Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn as well as lamb steaks (hind leg) from sheep slaughtered in Autumn (n = 8) were sourced and homogenized. The contents of all four vitamin D-related compounds were analysed using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's standard reference material no. 1546a-Meat Homogenate. The total vitamin D activity of meat was defined as: [vitamin D3 + (25(OH)D3 × 5) + vitamin D2 + (25(OH)D2 × 5)]. Results The median (inter-quartile range) total vitamin D activity of striploin beef steak (n = 39, irrespective of season) was 0.56 (0.37–0.91) μg/100 g. The content of all four vitamin D compounds in beef steak varied significantly (P &lt; 0.0001) with season (n = 8–11/season group). Median total vitamin D activity of beef steak increased in a stepwise manner (P &lt; 0.0001) from Winter to the following Autumn (increasing from 0.31 to 1.07 μg/100 g). The mean total vitamin D activity of lamb samples (n = 8) from Autumn was 0.47 μg/100 g. Conclusions About a third of the total vitamin D activity of Irish beef was attributable to its combined vitamin D2 and 25(OH)D2 content, estimates of which are largely or completely missed in food composition tables. There was significant seasonal variation in all four vitamin D compounds as well as in total vitamin D activity, which has implications for vitamin D nutrient claims for beef.