Point of purchase fatty acid profile, oxidative status and quality of vacuum-packaged grass fed Australian beef held chilled for up to 12 weeks

Benjamin W B Holman; Kristy L Bailes; Matthew J Kerr; David L Hopkins

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.107878

Point of purchase fatty acid profile, oxidative status and quality of vacuum-packaged grass fed Australian beef held chilled for up to 12 weeks

Meat Sci. 2019 Dec:158:107878. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.107878. Epub 2019 Jun 26.

Authors

Benjamin W B Holman¹, Kristy L Bailes², Matthew J Kerr³, David L Hopkins⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Red Meat and Sheep Development, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Cowra, NSW 2794, Australia; Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia. Electronic address: benjamin.holman@dpi.nsw.gov.au.
² Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.
³ Centre for Red Meat and Sheep Development, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Cowra, NSW 2794, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Red Meat and Sheep Development, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Cowra, NSW 2794, Australia; Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.

PMID: 31401371
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.107878

Abstract

We investigated the fatty acid (FA) composition, oxidative biomarkers and quality traits of chilled beef. Specifically, striploin portions were held in vacuo and chilled (~ 1.5 °C) for up to 12 weeks, and analysed dependent on their assigned chilled storage period (0, 2, 5, 8, 10 and 12 weeks). There were no practical effects observed on beef FA composition as a result of chilled storage - including several polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Intramuscular fat content was found to have a covariate effect, but only for saturated FA and monounsaturated FA. Vitamin E and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were unchanged. Furthermore, improvements to shear force and particle size were evident at 2 weeks and thereafter, no further variation was evident. These findings suggest that beef produced to be healthier based on the EPA, DHA and PUFA content will remain so, for up to 12 weeks. Likewise, beef quality will be preserved across this same period.

Keywords: Aged beef; Bovine; Fatty acids; Lipid oxidation; Meat quality traits; Vitamin E.

MeSH terms

Animals
Australia
Biomarkers
Cattle
Docosahexaenoic Acids / analysis
Eicosapentaenoic Acid / analogs & derivatives
Fatty Acids / analysis*
Food Storage / methods
Oxidation-Reduction
Red Meat / analysis
Red Meat / standards*
Refrigeration*
Shear Strength
Vacuum

Substances

Biomarkers
Fatty Acids
Docosahexaenoic Acids
eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester
Eicosapentaenoic Acid