Abstract
The objective of this study was to compare the carcass quality and meat tenderness of Hawaii cattle finished on subtropical pasture with those of mainland US feedlot-finished cattle that were shipped from Hawaii after weaning. Rib-eye steak samples were collected from 30 feedlot-finished cattle harvested at a slaughter house in Washington State, USA and from 13 subtropical pasture-finished cattle harvested at a local slaughter house in Hawaii, then shipped to meat science laboratory at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Samples were aged for 2 weeks at 4°C and frozen for later proximate analysis and meat tenderness measurement. Feedlot-finished cattle had significantly heavier carcass weight (353 vs 290 kg) and thicker backfat (13.5 vs 6.6 mm), but no significant difference was observed in rib-eye area between the two groups. Marbling score (Small) and United States Department of Agriculture quality grade (Choice) of the pasture-finished beef were not significantly (P < 0.05) different from those of feedlot-finished beef. The shear force value of pasture-finished beef (5.18 kg) was not statistically different (P < 0.05) from that of feedlot-finished beef (4.40 kg). In conclusion, results of this study suggest that Hawaii cattle finished on subtropical pasture produced as tender beef as mainland feedlot-finished cattle with less intramuscular fat.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Kulana Foods, Inc. (Hawaii County), Bruneau Cattle Co (Bruneau, ID, USA), and Tyson slaughter plant (Pasco, WA, USA) for their collaboration during sample collection. This project was supported by a USDA CSREES Special Grant, Hawaii Agricultural Diversification 2004.
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Kim, Y.S., Fukumoto, G.K. & Kim, S. Carcass quality and meat tenderness of Hawaii pasture-finished cattle and Hawaii-originated, mainland feedlot-finished cattle. Trop Anim Health Prod 44, 1411–1415 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-012-0080-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-012-0080-x