TEXTURE OF PIEMONTESE BEEF CULLED COWS AGED 4-13 YEARS

This study examine the effect of age of the animals and ageing time (d1, d9, d15) on meat texture of ten double-muscled Piemontese culled cows, slaughtered under “young” and over “mature” 5 years of age. The analyses carried out on longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscle were: pH (at 30 hrs p.m.), sarcomere length, cooking losses (CL), Warner-Bratzler shear force (WB), compression test (CT). The considered parameters for WB were: peak force (PF), initial yield (IY) and their difference (PF–IY). The compression test was performed at 20% (H20%) and 80% (H80%) of original height of the sample. Compared with young cows, mature cows, had a higher PF–IY value. The lower IY and the higher difference PF-IY at d9 and d15 in comparison with d1 certify the tenderizing effect of ageing on myofibrillar tissue. Similarly, a lower H20% was detected at d9 and d15, which reflects the tenderizing effect of the proteases on the myofibers. This results indicate that the tenderness significantly improved until 9 days of ageing. Therefore, a further extension of ageing do not seem convenient to improve meat tenderness also considering the costs involved in the process.