The impact of selection for marbling on beef cow production traits has not been widely researched. Increasing marbling in beef without increasing overall. A recent research article addresses the biology and biochemistry of beef marbling and its effects on production. Usda s agricultural marketing service ams employs 200 highlyskilled beef graders who, sometimes with the help of electronic monitoring, evaluate several factors that determine the grade, including the amount and distribution of marbling. Factors affecting estimation of marbling in cattle and the relationship between marbling score and intramuscular fat. Wagyu beef, for example, can be extremely marbled due to its geneticsso much so that its prized for that marbling. Marbling intramuscular fat is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean. The breed, or combination of breeds, used in a defined breeding program have a significant impact on the efficiency and profitability of the beef enterprise. The fat makes the meat softer and easier to chew, as there is simply less muscle fibre and collagen per unit volume of meat. When beef graders yes, there are people who grade beef for a living are grading beef, they specifically look at amount of marbling in the ribeye muscle between the 12 th and th ribs.
The desire to find the juiciest piece of beef, be it a steak or ribs or roast, isnt limited to just the restaurant and how it is seasoned or. Introduction to beef production 2 beef facts birth weight 60 to 100 pounds body temperature 101. Marbling analysis for evaluating meat quality wiley online library. To be effective, however, there must be a sufficient number of intramuscular adipocytes, which allow intramuscular fat accumulation. Marbling is affected by genetics and nutritional management. In conventional beef production, cattle are supplemented with a highgrain diet during the finishing stage to induce intramuscular adipocyte hypertrophy, thereby enhancing marbling fat deposition. The available research indicates little relationship positive or negative between marbling and measures of reproduction, milk production, preweaning growth, feedlot performance, external fat deposition and mature size. Genetics and marbling m arbling drives valuebased beef marketing. Increasing marbling in beef without increasing overall fatness date. Figure 1 shows the relationship between beef marbling degree and carcass quality grade. Because milk production is highly related to preweaning weight gain, producers often wonder if overall milk yield or milk composition is important. Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and th ribs. An expert on skeletal muscle growth in cattle, helped lead a study examining.
No one beef production system is the optimum system for finishing beef cattle with each having its own merits and risks. Use of expected progeny differences for marbling in beef. Feed and finishing may also impact marbling, with grassfinished cattle offering a leaner, beefier flavor whereas grainfinished beef are much milder. Thats partly because of the wide range of research results and subsequent advice to producers, along with a segmented beef. Stress or fasting preslaughter can quickly reduce the marbling score. The term marbling refers to the small flecks of fat scattered throughout the muscle. Since the development of a feedlot industry in australia to include the production of japanese black cattle, australian consumers have had access to more highly marbled beef, and korea has increased the marbling of their native hanwoo cattle by more than 30% over the last two decades. Optimizing livestock production efficiency through.
Beef crc research indicates that marbling potential can also be adversely affected by growth restriction much earlier in life. Marbling is fat, so it is largely determined by the diet of the animal and to a certain degree the breed of cattle. For any beef system to be profitable and sustainable in the long term there are a number guidelines and targets that beef farmers need to be aware of and should work towards achieving. Producing a product that meets consumers needs is an important part of the beef industry. This is fairly intuitive since you can imagine how difficult it would be to get fat by eating grass. Increase beef marbling without increasing overall fatness usda grant received by texas tech to investigate how activating a receptor makes for healthier beef. Marbling is what gives beef its flavor, juiciness and tenderness. However, genetic and phenotypic correlations between melting point, marbling and fatty acid composition in beef cattle have not been reported. Pdf growth, development and nutritional manipulation of. How to infuse enough of this qualitygrade potential into herd genetics or even how much is enough has remained something of a mystery. The need to identify producers often request information relative tterms of performance and exhibit desirable carcaso s. Breed differences and genetic parameters for melting point. The biggest discovery is the gpr 43 receptor in marbling adipocytes that increase the production of lipids, which increases the production of marbling without increasing fat. There are substantial differences in marbling ability across breeds of cattle, and.
It is possible to achieve good eating quality without marbling. Beef carcass quality grading is based on 1 degree of marbling and 2 degree of maturity. In fact, our whole mission in life is to increase the levels of marbling in the products we send to your plates. Pdf factors affecting estimation of marbling in cattle and the. All around the world, marbling is one of the most critical factors in beef grading scales.
Marbling has a positive effect on eating quality in many highvalue cuts. Increase beef marbling without increasing overall fatness. Benton and washington counties are the two largest counties in terms of all cattle and calves numbers, 120,000 and. Getting cattle to hit the higher quality grades takes effort at every link in the production system. Consumers want beef that is consistently tender and palatable. Marbling is a measure of quality, and as such the meat industry is always using meat science to make production more predictable and uniform, to boost profits. Evaluation of the role of marbling texture on beef palatability. There are documented differences in milk composition among beef and dairy breeds marston et al. Thats partly because of the wide range of research results and advice, along with a segmented supply chain and erratic market signals. In the pork and lamb industry, the determination of marbling degree also relies on a visual comparison between meat and meat marbling standard pictures by experienced graders. Certain breeds have higher marbling scores on average due to the way they metabolize food. Duckett1 1clemson university, animal and veterinary sciences department, clemson, sc introduction marbling or intramuscular fat deposition in beef is a major determinant of carcass quality and value in the us.
Marbling is the vi sible intramuscular fat within a crosssection. In japan, visual appraisal of beef quality is performed by the japan meat grading assoc. Managing and feeding for marbling and carcass quality in beef cattle dennis lunn, ruminant nutritionist shurgain, nutreco canada inc. Based on that one location of the cow, they can then determine if the beef in the entire cow is prime, choice or select.
The presence of marbling has an extremely positive effect on the eating quality of beef, in terms of tenderness, juicinessmoisture and flavour. Fat, and marbling in particular, has a beneficial effect on the juiciness and flavour of beef as it aids the entrapment of moisture in the meat and melts through it. Breed influences the important parameters of growth rate, reproductive efficiency, maternal ability, and endproduct specifications. Strategies to achieve high marbling 20 december 2011 a recent beef crc project led by dr paul greenwood, principal research scientist at new south wales primary industries, has sought to determine if it is possible to increase marbling through the strategic use of high energy supplements immediately postweaning. Pdf development of marbling in beef cattle can be modulated. Marbling management of cattle to maximize the deposition. Since the development of a feedlot industry in australia to include the production of. Cattle that are raised on grain will have more marbling than grassfed beef. Marbling adipocytes, however, require glucose, which johnson said is a premium energy source for both animals and humans. The marbling content of meat is a key component in determining quality grade the table below displays the canadian grading system along with the american. Cattle with marbling genes would be genetically inclined to produce more. In order to improve the detection accuracy and production efficiency, a variety of modern instrumental techniques, including spectroscopic techniques, imaging.
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