Canonical discriminant analysis and meat quality analysis as complementary tools to detect the illicit use of dexamethasone as a growth promoter in Friesian bulls

A screening method based on meat quality parameters and production traits for detecting the effects of illegal administration of dexamethasone in Friesian bulls was assessed. Twenty finishing bulls were divided into an untreated control group (n = 8) and two treatment groups receiving dexamethasone orally at dosages of 1.4 (n = 6) or 0.7 (n = 6) mg per head per day for 60 days. The animals were slaughtered 26 days after cessation of treatment. Thirty-six parameters were measured on live animals, carcasses and samples of the longissimus thoracis muscle. The production traits were similar between groups, but there were significant differences in meat quality between treatment groups. The higher dosage of dexamethasone improved meat tenderness, while the lower dosage resulted in more saturated red meat, with increased meat cooking shrinkage and cooking loss. The use of a portable ‘electronic nose’ as a screening tool was not successful in discriminating between treated and untreated meat. These results indicate that a multivariable approach using canonical discriminant analysis may be a complementary tool to identify meat from animals illegally treated with dexamethasone, based on several parameters (meat flavour, cooking and thawing loss, tenderness, colour and live weight gain), which are part of the normal analysis of meat quality.