Beef quality of Piemontese steers

In order to describe the chemical and physical characteristics of beef from Piemontese steers slaughtered under and over 24 months of age a study was carried out on twenty hypertrophied Piemontese steers belonging to the two commercial categories. Twenty four hours after slaughtering the cold dressing percentage was recorded and the pH was measured on longissimus thoracis. After 8 days of ageing, the following analyses were performed on longissimus thoracis et lumborum: pH; chemical composition; haem iron content; hydroxyproline content and collagen solubility; colour (L, aL, bL); drip losses; cooking losses; shear force on raw and cooked meat. No differences were observed between the two categories except for cold dressing percentage. The actual commercial division of steers in the two age classes does not seem justified as the animals have similar meat quality characteristics from a nutritional and organoleptic point of view.