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Verification of beef production systems and authentication of origin is becoming increasingly important as consumers base purchase decisions on a greater number of perceived values including the healthiness and environmental impact of products. Previously Raman spectroscopy has been explored as a tool to classify carcases from grass and grain fed cattle. Thus, the aim of the current study was to validate Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) models created using independent samples from carcases sampled from northern and southern Australian production systems in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Validation of the robustness of discrimination models was undertaken using spectral measures of fat from 585 carcases which were measured in 2022 using a Raman handheld device with a sample excised for fatty acid analysis. PLS-DA models were constructed and then employed to classify samples as either grass or grain fed in a two-class model. Overall, predictions were high with accuracies of up to 95.7% however, variation in the predictive ability was noted with models created for southern cattle yielding an accuracy of 73.2%. While some variation in fatty acids and therefore models can be attributed to differences in genetics, management and diet, the impact of duration of feeding is currently unknown and thus further work is warranted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Funding was achieved by Stephanie Fowler with the assistance of David Hopkins. Stephanie Fowler designed the experiment, complied the first draft, was responsible for project administrated and collected the data along with Matthew Kerr. Data was analysed by Leigh Schmidtke. Edits were made by all authors and the final manuscript was prepared by Stephanie Fowler. The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Medium voltage electrical stimulation and wet ageing periods effects on the carcasses and meat quality of Australian rangeland goats were investigated. 64 rangeland goats were slaughtered as 2 equal consignments, wherein half were exposed to post-dressing electrical stimulation (300 V, 500 ms pulse width, 45 s) and half were not (control). Carcass and pH decline parameters and glycogen concentration were recorded. At 24 h post-mortem, fresh colour was measured and longissimus lumborum muscles (LL) removed. Within carcass, paired LL were halved and allocated to each of 4 ageing periods (1, 2, 4, or 21 d). There were no significant effects from electric stimulation on LL pH at 18 °C, LL temperature at pH 6, LL pH at 24 h post-mortem, semitendinosus pH at 24 h post-mortem, and LL glycogen concentration. There were no significant interactions between stimulation and ageing period on cooking loss, particle size, purge loss, sarcomere length, shear force, and ultimate pH. Independent to stimulation, shear force, particle size, and cooking values declined as ageing period increased. Purge loss was highest after 21 d of ageing. Colour stability was unaffected by ageing, although all CIE colour coordinates varied across the 74 h total retail display period. There were negative linear relationships found between LL glycogen concentrations and LL temperature at pH 6, ultimate pH, and sarcomere length. These findings suggest there to be little benefit to post-dressing electrical stimulation of rangeland goat carcasses, when applied independent to or in combination with ageing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study compared carcasses as well as the quality and mineral concentration of meat from lambs extensively grazing perennial wheat with clover (PW + C), serradella (PW + S), lucerne (PW + L), or a mineral salt supplement (PW + Min). A split-plot design was used, wherein 3 crossbred ewe lambs (n = 72 in total) (sub-plots) grazed each of 4 forage types (plots), that were replicated across 6 locations (blocks). The feeding study concluded after 96 d, when all the lambs were slaughtered. The left longissimus lumborum muscles (LL) were collected and wet aged for either 5 or 56 d post-mortem. Lambs grazing PW + Min were found to produce carcasses with lower dressing percentage values to those grazing the other forage types (P = 0.037). The LL of lambs grazing PW + L had the lowest crude protein values (P = 0.015). Forage type by ageing period interactions did not affect meat quality. The 56 d ageing period resulted in higher purge loss (P < 0.001) and TVB-N values (P < 0.001) and a decline in shear force (P < 0.001) compared to the 5 d ageing period. The other carcass and meat quality parameters were not affected by forage type; including hot carcass weight, pH decline parameters, eye muscle area, cooking loss, intramuscular fat, sarcomere length, colour stability, and concentrations of calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, and zinc in the LL. These findings confirm that perennial cereal production systems, that include legume forages with contrasting protein, energy, and micronutrient profiles, can deliver comparable lamb carcasses and meat quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Despite the importance of intramuscular fat (IMF) to eating quality, as yet no methodology has been widely adopted by the whole of industry in Australia to measure it routinely. Thus, a study was conducted to investigate the potential for a Near Infra-Red (NIR) device to predict the IMF content of the loin from spectra collected on the topside which is externally located on a hanging carcase and therefore easily accessible. To this end, NIR spectra were collected from topsides (m. semimembranosus) of 258 lamb carcases over 5 data collections and a sample of muscle was collected from the loin and the topside for IMF determination using a wet chemistry method. Subsequent Partial Least Square (PLS) models suggested the ability to predict the absolute IMF content of loins was poor (R 2  = 0.28, RMSE = 1.26), yet there was a moderate ability to predict the IMF content of the topside (R 2  = 0.56, RMSE = 0.82). Partial Least Square Discrimination Analysis (PLS-DA) models to classify cuts based on the IMF eating quality threshold of 4.5% yielded better predictive outcomes with accuracies of 66.7% and 76.7% for loin and topside respectively. However, further research to assess the relationship between the IMF of the loin and topside and reduce the impact of differences in overall absorbance between data collections will improve predictive outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Funding was achieved by Suzanne Mortimer and David Hopkins. Stephanie Fowler designed the experiment, collected the data along with those acknowledged in the manuscript, complied the first draft and completed the data analysis with Stephen Morris. Edits were made by all authors and the final manuscript was prepared by Stephanie Fowler., (Crown Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In order to explore the effect of sub-freezing storage on water holding capacity and tenderness of beef, four treatments were compared in this study: sub-freezing (-7 °C) fast sub-freezing (-38 °C until the core temperature achieved to -7 °C), superchilling (-1 °C) and fast frozen (-38 °C until the core temperature achieved to -18 °C) with the latter two treatments serving as the controls. The differences in muscle fiber structure, water distribution, protein oxidation and cytoskeletal protein degradation were studied. The results demonstrated that compared with other treatments, the fast sub-freezing treatment resulted in less structural damage to the muscle fibers and had better water holding capacity. Both sub-freezing and fast sub-freezing treatments inhibited protein oxidation compared with superchilling, but the former treatment's level of protein oxidation was higher than that in fast sub-freezing treatment during long-term storage (42 weeks). In addition, the structural proteins in the sub-freezing and fast sub-freezing treatments underwent faster degradation during long-term storage and therefore the meat was more tender compared with the fast frozen treatment. The results indicate that the fast sub-freezing treatment can be potentially applied in beef storage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to develop an appropriate modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) system for displayed beef steaks following long-term superchilled (-1 °C) storage. After superchilled storage for 0, 2, 8, or 16 weeks, beef loins were fabricated into steaks and displayed with 20%, 50%, or 80% O 2 -MAP under chilled conditions. At each storage point, after display for 0, 3, 7, or 10 days, instrumental color, myoglobin redox forms percentage, lipid oxidation, total viable count (TVC), and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) were evaluated. Meat color stability decreased, with prolonged storage period and display time. When the storage period was within 8 weeks, under all the above MAP conditions, the display time for the beef steaks was up to 10 days. Considering 80% O 2 -MAP promoted lipid oxidation, 50% and 80% O 2 -MAP were not recommended for displaying steaks for more than 10 and 7 days respectively after 16 weeks of storage. However, 20%, 50%, or 80% O 2 -MAP could maintain 3 days of microbial shelf-life according to TVC and TVB-N results. Additionally, after long-term superchilled storage for 16 weeks, the various O 2 concentrations had minimal impact on microbiota succession during the MAP display period. Furthermore, beef steaks packaged under various MAP systems exhibited similar microbial compositions, with the dominant bacteria alternating between Lactobacillus and Carnobacterium. This study provided practical guidance for improving beef color stability after long-term superchilled storage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study describes the impact of sous vide cooking at different temperatures and time intervals on the eating quality, specifically tenderness of two muscles, bicep femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) from spent buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Spent buffalo refers to water buffalo that are no longer considered productive following a sixth lactation cycle. Steaks from each muscle were obtained and cooked at three combinations of time and temperature, namely 55 °C-8H, 65 °C-5H, and 95 °C-45 M, respectively. Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF), cooking loss, cooking yield, color, water activity (a w ), total water content (TWC), total collagen content (TCC), heat soluble collagen (HSC), myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), and sensory evaluation were measured. The collagen solubilization results showed that temperature and time interacted (P ≤ 0.05), reducing the toughness of the muscles. The tenderization achieved through sous vide cooking was mainly attributed to the thermal denaturation of proteins at the typically lower temperatures and extended time used, weakening of connective tissue through collagen solubilization, and water retention. More cooking loss (P ≤ 0.05) was observed at high temperature treatment of 95 °C-45 M. Meat color, TWC, MFI, and overall acceptability exhibited differences among treatments (P ≤ 0.05). An extended heat interval at lower temperatures caused initial denaturation of myofibrillar proteins, then solubilization of connective tissue proteins. Cooking treatment 55 °C-8H (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the WBSF in both muscles; however, the ST appeared more tender than BF., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest It is declared by the authors that this research does not have any conflict of interest with any private or governmental organization., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The current study examined the growth rates, carcase characteristics, meat quality, and consumer sensory evaluation of the longissimus lumborum muscle (striploin) from steers that were supplemented with either canola meal or grain-based pellets. Forty Angus and Hereford × Angus steers received one of these two supplements with ad libitum lucerne hay for 60 d prior to slaughter. Average daily weight gain was not affected by dietary treatment; however, hot standard carcase weight was significantly lower for steers offered canola meal compared with steers on the grain-based pellets. Dietary treatment did not affect the carcase characteristics, meat quality traits, and consumer sensory evaluation, irrespective of ageing periods. Therefore, canola meal can be used as an approved Pasturefed Cattle Assurance System (PCAS) supplement on moderate dry quality forages without negatively affecting carcase and meat quality traits., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The physicochemical parameters of hot-boned bovine semimembranosus muscles after sous vide cooking were investigated. Hot-boned or wet-aged steaks were collected, and cooked by different cooking methods, including sous vide (57 °C, 11 h, SV), grilling (at 200 °C to the central temperature of 72 °C, GR) or boiling (100 °C, 2 h, BO). The meat color, tenderness, water-holding capacity, degree of oxidation, myoglobin denaturation and sensory quality traits were determined, as well as the changes in the microstructure. Compared to other cooking methods, SV reduced the degree of oxidation and muscle shortening, and significantly improved the water holding capacity (WHC), tenderness, connective tissue content and overall acceptability for both hot-boned and wet-aged steaks. The oxidation and muscle shortening were reduced in hot-boned SV steaks (P < 0.05), and the water-holding capacity and sensory scores for juiciness, connective tissue content and overall acceptability were increased (P < 0.05) compared to the wet-aged steaks. The combination of hot-boning and SV cooking resulted in an acceptable tenderness, better overall sensory acceptability and higher WHC than other combinations of muscle states and cooking methods. Therefore, it is a good choice to cook hot-boned semimembranosus muscles using SV to improve the eating quality, which can eliminate the need for aging, benefiting the beef industry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study compared the fatty acid and mineral concentrations of lamb meat that was prepared to different levels of cooking doneness. Ten m. longissimus lumborum were each sectioned into 4 slices that were randomly assigned to be uncooked or grilled to an internal end-point temperature of 60 °C (rare), 71 °C (medium), or 77 °C (well done). It was found that cooking loss increased as the level of cooking doneness increased. The proportion of most major fatty acids were not altered by cooking. However, when adjusted for cooking loss (i.e., mg/135 g serve of lamb as-is equivalent prepared to each level of cooking doneness), the concentration of most major fatty acids, including C16:0, C18:0, C18:1n-9, and many conjugated linoleic acids, were lowered after grilling to any level of cooking doneness and compared to the uncooked samples. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was lowest for the uncooked samples and highest for those prepared to a well done level of cooking doneness. Conversely, the concentration of health claimable omega-3 fatty acids in the uncooked meat was retained upon cooking and across all the different internal endpoint temperatures. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and sodium were reduced with preparation of lamb meat to any level of cooking doneness, compared with uncooked meat. Zinc, iron, and selenium were retained within the cooked samples. These findings show that consumer preference for a level of cooking doneness will have only minor effects on the concentration of minerals and fatty acids in lamb meat., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The antioxidant effect of betel leaf extract (BLE) on lipid and protein oxidation, microbial count and physicochemical attributes was investigated in meat sausages during refrigerated storage at 4 ± 1 °C. Buffalo meat sausages were developed after incorporating 0, 250, 500 and 750 mg kg -1 of BLE (BLE0, BLE1, BLE2 and BLE3) respectively. The sausages showed no changes in proximate composition due to BLE inclusion, but there was an improvement in microbial quality, color score, textural properties and lipid and protein oxidative stability. Further, higher sensory scores were observed for the BLE-incorporated samples. The images from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a reduction in surface roughness and unevenness showing microstructure modification in BLE treated sausages compared to the control sausages. Hence, to improve the storage stability and impede the rate of lipid oxidation in sausages, BLE incorporation proved to be an effective strategy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated whether beef m. longissimus lumborum (LL) can be merchandised under retail conditions, following long-term superchilled storage (-1 °C). At 24 h post-mortem, the LL from left side of beef carcasses (n = 5) were fabricated into vacuum packaged beef thick-cuts, and then stored for 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 weeks under superchilled conditions (-1 °C). Following storage, beef cuts were fabricated into steaks and aerobically displayed (0- 4 °C) for 5 days. Instrumental color, percentage of myoglobin redox forms, metmyoglobin reducing activity, oxygen consumption, and lipid oxidation were evaluated. After 4 weeks, the steaks had the highest a*, b* and chroma values between 1 and 3 days of display. Longer superchilled storage resulted in a rapid increase in discoloration and lipid oxidation which were observed in samples during display. Specifically, the a* values of steaks superchilled for 16 and 20 weeks approached the unacceptability threshold (a* ≥ 14.5) after 3 days of display., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and this manuscript has been approved by all authors for publication., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The objective of the present study was to explore the effect of Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx 6) on beef tenderization during the early postmortem period. The longissimus lumborum (LL) were obtained at 45 min postmortem from 6 beef carcasses and then incubated with or without the inhibitor of Prdx6 (NSC348884) for different times, followed by incubation with or without the H 2 O 2 (simulation of oxidative stress). The expression of Prdx6, proteolysis indicated by desmin degradation, cell apoptosis rate and expression of caspases were measured. The results indicated that the inhibitor significantly reduced the Prdx6 level, while the cells adaptively increased Prdx6 expression to resist the oxidative stress caused by H 2 O 2 . Moreover, the samples in which Prdx6 was inhibited demonstrated more severe desmin degradation accompanied by a higher apoptosis rate which was induced by the increase in caspase degradation as well as the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2. These results demonstrated that inhibiting Prdx6 could promote cell apoptosis and further accelerate beef tenderization., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and this manuscript has been approved by all authors for publication. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described has not been published previously, and it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the effect of superchilling (-30 °C until the core temperature achieved -3 °C, then stored at -1 °C until 24 h, SC) on the tenderness of hot boned beef M. longissimus lumborum (LL), with very fast chilling (-30 °C until the core temperature achieved 0 °C, then stored at -1 °C until 24 h, VFC) and conventional chilling (0- 4 °C for 24 h, CC) as the controls. The lowest initial shear force values were obtained in SC samples compared to those from the VFC and CC treatments (P < 0.05). Clear freezing damage of muscle fibers and more myofibril fragmentation were found in SC samples compared with the other samples early post-mortem. Moreover, SC samples showed the highest level of inosine 5-monophosphate at 3 h post-mortem (P < 0.05). A reduced glycolysis rate (as evidenced by lactate content) was also found in SC treated samples suggesting little contribution of glycolysis on the tenderization of SC., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and this manuscript has been approved by all authors for publication., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The quality, colour, and shelf-life of wet aged grass and grain-fed beef were compared. Striploins (n = 24) were each divided into 6 portions and were assigned to different ageing periods (0, 3, 5, 8, 11, or 14 weeks). Analysis demonstrated that declines in shear force and particle size occurred within the first 3 weeks of ageing. Extended ageing resulted in increases in beef purge and pH; and decreases in total moisture, drip, and cooking loss. The initial grass-fed beef drip (3.1%) and particle sizes (201.0 μm) were higher than for grain-fed beef (1.8% and 145.2 μm, respectively). Total viable counts were > 7 cfu/g after 5 weeks of ageing. Total volatile basic nitrogen was < 15 mg/100 g, even after 14 weeks of ageing. Product line by ageing period interactions affected vitamin E and colour parameters. In conclusion, wet aged beef maintains 'acceptable' microbial loads for 5-8 weeks, irrespective of product line and without any deterioration in its quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Crown Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the effect of superchilling (-30 °C until the core temperature achieved -3 °C, and - 1 °C until 24 h, SC) on shelf-life and bacterial community dynamics of beef loins, with a typical very fast chilling (-30 °C until the core temperature achieved 0 °C, and - 1 °C until 24 h, VFC) and conventional chilling (0- 4 °C for 24 h, CC) as controls. The super-chilled storage (-1 °C) was adopted after each chilling procedure, and physicochemical traits and microbiological quality were evaluated during a long-term storage. No remarkable adverse impact on meat color and lipid oxidation were observed in SC treatment. The bacterial composition results showed that Carnobacterium spp. were the main bacteria in SC treatment in the late storage period (63- 84 days). The loss of Lactobacillus spp., due to the "ultra-low temperature" during the superchilling, might be the reason that the SC did not result in a longer shelf-life compared with CC samples., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) plays an important bacteriostatic role in high-oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (HiOx-MAP). This study aimed to explore the influence of CO 2 on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) profile in HiOx-MAP beef steaks and assess the changes in VOCs associated with microbiota dynamics during 20-days of chilled storage. Compared to control MAP (CMAP: 50% O 2 /50% N 2 ), CO 2 -enriched MAP (TMAP: 50% O 2 /40% CO 2 /10% N 2 ) rendered steaks with desirable appearance and odor freshness during storage through inhibiting bacterial growth and reducing the accumulation of acetoin, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, 1,3-butanediol, diacetyl and 2-heptanone (P < 0.05). 1-Octen-3-ol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol were main VOCs in TMAP steaks and were positively related to Brochothrix thermosphacta levels. Acetoin and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol could be used as potential spoilage indicators in CMAP steaks, which were positively related to B. thermosphacta and Pseudomonas levels. Overall, the desirable odor freshness of TMAP steaks was mainly attributed to the CO 2 -inhibitory effect on the off-odor VOCs production correlated with B. thermosphacta, Pseudomonas and Serratia growth., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pasture contains a lot of terpenes, able to pass throughout oral assumption and inhalation into meat. The aim of this paper was to verify if limonene accumulates in meat after oral or respiratory exposure and to assess its effects on animal oxidative status and meat quality. Thirty-six goat kids were involved and assigned for 1 week to three treatment groups: control group (CG); an oral group (OG), where limonene was administered directly into the mouth (drenched); and a respiratory group (RG), in which limonene was administered via inhalation. The meat limonene concentration for the OG was the highest (P < 0.01), although RG showed the highest rate of transfer (P < 0.001). Limonene gives the possibility to delay lipid oxidative processes, reducing discoloration and rancidity in meat. However, the respiration route seems to be able to guarantee a greater limonene transfer into meat compared to the oral one., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

With the aim to define an objective threshold for consumer satisfaction, this study investigated the relationship between lamb particle size data and consumer scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall liking (sensorial properties). Data were sourced from the longissimus lumborum muscles of 273 Australian Merino lambs, these being aged for 5-d and then analysed for particle size and sensorial properties - the latter using untrained consumer sensory panels. Pearson's correlation and principal component analyses identified no significant relationship between particle size and consumer sensory scores. Linear regression models found the sensorial properties of lamb could not be predicted using particle size, indicating no univariate relationship. Further, a backwards stepwise regression analysis found there to be no multivariate or univariate relationship between the sensorial properties of lamb and its particle size. These findings demonstrate that there is little value in defining a particle size threshold for consumer satisfaction based on the sensorial properties of lamb., (Crown Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The current research evaluated the combined effect of oxygen concentration (20%, 50% and 80% O 2 ) and storage temperature (4°C or -1.5°C) on the fresh and internal cooked color of dark-cutting (DC) beef. Steaks were packaged in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) over a 12-day storage period. Although the metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA) of DC steaks decreased with increasing O 2 levels, lower oxygen consumption (OC) and deeper oxygen penetration depth (OPD) improved the surface color of 50%O 2 -MAP and 80%O 2 -MAP DC steaks. 80%O 2 -MAP resulted in the highest (P < 0.05) percentage myoglobin denaturation and alleviated the phenomenon of persistent pink (PP) observed in DC beef. Compared with normal chilling, superchilling significantly increased the redness values of DC steaks through inhibition of lipid oxidation and enhancement of MRA, while it had no effects on PP due to the limited OPD. The results suggest that 80%O 2 -MAP combined with superchilling can be used to improve fresh color and minimize PP of DC beef., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this study was to identify the tenderness and energy metabolism attributes in normal ultimate pH (pH u , 5.4-5.8, NpH u ), intermediate pH u (5.8-6.2, IpH u ) and high pH u (> 6.2, HpH u ) Longissimus lumborum from beef. During 21 days of aging, the IpH u group exhibited a higher Warner-Bratzler shear force, lower activity of μ-calpain, and a higher content of heat shock protein 27 and greater protein oxidation. Metabolomics analysis revealed that 24 differential metabolites were detected during the first 24 h postmortem between pH groups, and these were mainly the products of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. The relatively higher adenosine triphosphate content in the IpH u group could delay tenderization by being used as key substrate for protein phosphorylation. In addition, the relationship between guanosine triphosphate, diphosphate and monophosphate, and beef tenderness was worthy to be verified in the future study., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A total of 960 beef carcases from northern and southern Australian production regions were assessed by examining the subcutaneous fat. Carcases from four different production systems within each region were assessed, by Raman spectroscopy and the fatty acid composition determined to develop models that best classified the various production systems. As a result, 12 Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis models were developed. A two-class model based on fatty acid composition was able to correctly classify 99% of grass and grain fed animals. The best Raman spectroscopic model correctly classified 94% of grass vs grain carcases produced in the northern region. For the southern production region, the models had the following classification accuracies; southern long-term grain fed (98%), southern short-term grain fed (95%), southern grass (96%), southern grass supplemented (97%), and the southern model classified grass vs grain (97%). Raman spectroscopy is considered a useful rapid method for classification of beef carcases based upon production system., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The aim of the current study was to identify whether changes in pH or temperature during the development of rigor mortis influence spectral quality and thus the prediction of intramuscular fat (IMF) in hot lamb carcases. Semimembranosus muscles (SM) of 75 lamb carcases were measured pre-rigor 3 times (Runs 1-3) using a near infrared (NIR) spectrometer with muscle pH and temperature also recorded. Calibration models for the prediction of IMF showed that spectra measurements taken at Run 2 (R 2  = 0.42, RMSE = 0.75) and Run 3 (R 2  = 0.38, RMSE = 0.78) provided more accurate and precise models compared to Run 1 (R 2  = 0.27, RMSE = 0.84). An association between spectral variance, internal and surface temperature of the SM was observed across runs. These results suggest that, as muscle temperature declined during the early post-mortem period there was an improved ability of NIR spectra to predict IMF., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigated the impact of heat stress and genetics on lamb growth performance and meat quality. Forty-eight Dorper and 2nd cross [Poll Dorset × (Border Leicester × Merino)] lambs (38--42 kg; 4-5 months old) were allocated to either thermoneutral [TN; 18-21 °C, 45-55% relative humidity (RH)], or heat stress (HS; 28 °C-38 °C, 40-60% RH) conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design for 2 weeks. Compared with 2nd cross, Dorper lambs had a lower respiration rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT), and exhibited less decline in body weight under HS. 2nd cross lambs showed a higher body weight gain than Dorpers under TN conditions. HS increased a* and chroma of the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) from 2nd cross lambs over 10 days of display, but had no impact on Dorper LTL. In conclusion, Dorpers showed higher heat tolerance compared with 2nd cross lambs during the 2 weeks HS., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Meat scientists often use objective, laboratory-based methods to understand the sensorial properties of red meat. These approaches are advantageous because of their reproducibility, low cost, rapid generation of data and technical ease - comparative to large scale consumer sensory panels. To enhance the value of these methods, effort has been applied to identify specific limits or thresholds that correspond to a consumer's acceptance or satisfaction with the quality of a meat product. From the literature, we observe there to be inconsistencies in these thresholds. This could stem from disparate laboratory methods, consumer panel procedures and demographics, the approach to statistical analysis, sample type and representativeness, and more. This paper aimed to review consumer thresholds, proposed in the literature, to provide insight into their validity and transferability to other studies. Investigations were limited to red meat (beef and sheep meat) and to non-spectroscopic methods that have been used to predict consumer acceptance of colour, tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall liking., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study compared the effect of a novel perennial wheat forage and a conventional annual wheat forage, fed to lambs with or without lucerne, on the quality and mineral profile of the longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus muscles. This involved 48 Poll Dorset × Merino ewe lambs, 12 per treatment, managed for 28 days within individual pens. Consumer sensory panel scores showed 'good eating quality' for all samples irrespective of diet, a conclusion supported by the shear force, cooking loss, particle size, and intramuscular fat results. Drip loss was affected by a significant interaction between diet and muscle. The ultimate pH of meat from lambs fed annual wheat was highest. Comparable colour stability and purge results suggested that diet did not impact on lamb retail-potential. Sodium, sulphur and zinc concentrations were higher in the meat from lambs fed annual wheat, compared to perennial wheat. Overall, these outcomes support the use of perennial wheat as a forage for lamb production., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Beef longissimus lumborum muscles (24) were each portioned into 6 steaks, and these were held at ~0.5 °C for up to 14 weeks. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) data was compared against other measures of quality and freshness: total viable microbial count (TVC), ultimate pH, drip loss, purge, moisture content, cook loss, shear force, particle size, vitamin E, intramuscular fat content (IMF) and colour parameters. There was an association between TVB-N and colour parameters; and between TVB-N and several parameters for microbial load, tenderness and moisture. IMF and vitamin E were not correlated to TVB-N. TVB-N of 5.1 mg/100 g (95% confidence intervals: 4.6-5.5 mg/100 g) was estimated as equivalent to a TVC of log 7 cfu/g. When beef samples were categorised as either spoilt or fresh using this TVC recommendation, TVB-N was correct in 77.9% of its assignments. Additional investigation is necessary to confirm this result against a larger sample population with a broader range of TVB-N values., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Given the paucity of lamb carcase grading tools, there is a distinct need for the development of rapid, non-destructive grading tools for Australian lamb carcases, particularly fat content given its importance to meat and eating quality. The aim of the current study was to determine the potential for Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to predict IMF using Partial Least Squares (PLS) and machine learning analysis methods. As such, 299 lamb loins were measured using a NIR fibre optic device, a sample was excised for Soxhlet determination of IMF content and prediction models were created using either PLS or machine learning analyses methods. IMF prediction model outcomes were similar between analysis methods with an R 2  = 0.6 and RMSE = 0.84 and R 2  = 0.65 and RMSE = 0.72, respectively. This study highlighted that spectra from one slaughter varied greatly from the two succeeding slaughters and wavelengths selected between studies are not consistent., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Meat from cull cows is traditionally sold in Australia for mincemeat, but this study examined whether there is potential to add value by identifying meat of higher quality from older cattle. Dentition and ossification score were recorded for 173 Angus cattle of known age, ranging from 26 months to 12.6 years. Longissimus and semitendinosus muscles were sampled to assess the effect of chronological age on shear force and connective tissue. Age explained variation in shear force of the semitendinosus better than in the longissimus muscle, but had little effect on shear force values per se. At 2 days postmortem, 18% of the longissimus muscles were classified as tender reaching 65% as ageing extended to 14 days. Soluble collagen was a better predictor of age than total collagen. This study shows that the current practice of routinely selling meat from culled cows as mincemeat overlooks a valuable opportunity to grade and sell a significant proportion at higher price as prime cuts., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study compared longissimus lumborum (LL) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles, in 48 lamb carcasses, to determine their pH decline parameters and achievement of ideal pH criteria (hitting the window). These include the pH at temperature 18 °C (pH@18) and temperature at pH 6 (temp@pH6). No practical difference were found between muscles for pH@18 or the temp@pH6, although there were differences between the experimental carcasses evaluated. Indeed, for all but three carcasses, there were insignificant differences between the LL and ST in terms of their pH@18. This outcome suggests that the lower value and more accessible ST muscle can be measured to determine lamb carcass pH decline parameters, instead of the LL. Because of the scale of this study, additional investigation is advised prior to any adoption., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The objective was to evaluate the effect of packaging conditions on bacteriological and biochemical changes in beef steaks classified here, as normal ultimate pH (pHu; 5.40-5.79), intermediate pHu (5.80-6.09) or high pHu (≥ 6.10). Steaks were packaged in vacuum packaging (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging with high oxygen (HiO 2 -MAP) or carbon monoxide (CO-MAP). Headspace, bacterial counts, total volatile basic nitrogen, pH, purge loss, surface color, lipid oxidation, and sensory attributes were monitored over a 14-day storage period at 2 °C. HiO 2 -MAP and CO-MAP of high pHu steaks resulted in a bright red color even when observed to be spoilt. Reduced purge loss and lipid oxidation, as well as increased sensory acceptability were observed for steaks with elevated pHu. Higher pHu was also accompanied by an acceleration of microbial proliferation. Of all packaging types investigated, CO-MAP exerted the best preservation, regardless of pHu and based on its antibacterial and antioxidant properties., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study investigated the effect of feeding unsaleable carrots to lambs within a total-mixed ration (TMR) on performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and sensory parameters. Thirty-six Australian Merino wether lambs were fed a control (barley-based) or carrot-based TMR for 11-weeks. Carrot-fed lambs had 2.7% higher cold dressing percentage (P = 0.03) while consuming less than control lambs. Subcutaneous fat of carrot-fed lambs contained less branch-chained, and more cis- and trans-monounsaturated fatty acids (FA; P ≤ 0.01) compared to control-fed lambs, which tended (P = 0.08) to have higher concentrations of polyunsaturated FA, despite the Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle being unchanged by diet. Under retail display conditions, L* and hue values were lower (P ≤ 0.04) for 5 d aged LL samples from carrot-fed lambs. No differences were observed in other meat quality and sensory parameters between diets. Therefore, feeding unsaleable carrots at 45% DM in a TMR can improve lamb performance and carcass characteristics, while maintaining meat quality and FA composition., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Over the last two decades, proteomics have been employed to decipher the underlying factors contributing to variation in the quality of muscle foods, including beef tenderness. One such approach is the application of high-throughput protein analytical platforms in the identification of meat quality biomarkers. To broaden our understanding about the biological mechanisms underpinning meat tenderization across a large number of studies, an integromics study was performed to review the current status of protein biomarker discovery targeting beef tenderness. This meta-analysis is the first to gather and propose a comprehensive list of 124 putative protein biomarkers derived from 28 independent proteomics-based experiments, from which 33 robust candidates were identified worthy of evaluation using targeted or untargeted data-independent acquisition proteomic methods. We further provide an overview of the interconnectedness of the main biological pathways impacting tenderness determination after multistep analyses including Gene Ontology annotations, pathway and process enrichment and literature mining, and specifically discuss the major proteins and pathways most often reported in proteomics research., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study defined the pH threshold for dark cutting beef of Asian consumers using a web-based survey and examined their preferences for beef appearance. Ninety individual images of beef steaks with different pH values were randomly selected to be scored by 4322 respondents. Gender, age and beef eating habits of respondents were found to impact on color preferences. With respondent's visual score of 4 set as the acceptance threshold, linear regression analysis between visual scores and beef instrumental colorimetrics, showed that the acceptance thresholds of instrumental color values were L* ≥ 31.4, a* ≥ 16.4, b* ≥ 6.5, chroma ≥17.4 and hue ≥22.5. These corresponded to pH threshold values of 6.11, 6.20, 6.28, 6.25 and 6.29, respectively. This pH benchmark (6.11 to 6.29) for dark cutters is higher than pH thresholds applied in most countries, indicating that Asian consumers prefer darker meat than expected, however, the likely tenderness of beef with pH's at this level merits consideration., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effect of medium voltage electrical stimulation (ES), prior ageing (0-4 °C, 7 days), and their combination on the decrease of shear force in beef during superchilled storage (-4 °C) for 24 weeks was evaluated, in the context of a high shear force obtained under this storage condition. Both ES and prior ageing significantly reduced the initial Warner-Bratzler shear force, and the combination of ES and prior ageing shortened the storage time needed to reach an acceptable shear force of superchilled beef, which is mainly due to increased myofibrillar degradation as indicated by changes in desmin (P < 0.01, r = 0.35). Additionally, ES and prior ageing did not negatively affect lipid oxidation, total volatile basic nitrogen or water loss of superchilled beef. Consequently, ES combined with ageing for 7 days offered an effective approach for decreasing shear force and ensuring good quality superchilled beef., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Meat contains a range of nutrients in a highly bioavailable form and when meat is excluded from the diet, without being replaced with suitable alternatives, nutrient deficiencies may occur. For this reason, it is very important to extend our knowledge of nutrients in alternative red meats, such as that provided from the South American camelids- llama and alpaca. This review summarises the current information on the nutritional and sensory parameters of llama and alpaca meat and factors affecting quality. South American camelids produce lean carcases, with an uneven fat distribution across the carcase. Llama and alpaca meat quality traits are mostly influenced by animal nutrition, animal age and processing methods. A feeding strategy based on pasture and hay supplement of barley and alfalfa, and processing younger animals (18 months) has improved the fatty acid composition respectively in llama and alpaca meat, whereas meat colour and tenderness are influenced by processing treatments including electrical stimulation, tenderstretching and enzymatic infusion., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Beef rolls for hot pot are usually stored and transported in a frozen state, and the beef color deteriorates quickly. This paper reports on an investigation into the effect of packaging method, freezing temperature and storage time on instrumental color, pH, myoglobin state, lipid oxidation (TBARS) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) of beef rolls. It was shown that the color of beef rolls at -18 °C was better than that at -12 °C overall, and the OxyMb% and pH values were higher, while the MetMb% and TBARS were lower with storage at -18 °C. With the extension of storage time, the instrumental color, OxyMb% and pH values of beef rolls decreased. Correspondingly, the MetMb% and TBARS showed an upward trend. However, the TVB-N of all treatments did not exceed the Chinese standard during 180d of storage. The results of this paper provide a number of recommendations for the storage of frozen beef rolls to extend color-shelf life., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors state that they have no conflict of interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Beef ageing (in vacuo) for tenderisation and flavour development may be accelerated by favourable temperature-time combinations (TTCs), however the effect of such manipulations on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are generated during cooking, is unknown. We compared VOCs from grilled beef longissimus lumborum muscle samples which had been subjected to different TTCs. The TTCs consisted of combinations of temperatures (~ 3, 5, or 7 °C) and ageing time periods (6, 8, 10 or 12 d); as well as control samples, which were held at 0-2 °C for a total of 14 d. Sensory quality attributes of these same samples were measured by untrained consumer panellists. Generally, it was found that TTCs had negligible effects on grilled beef VOCs and were comparable to controls. Furthermore, many VOCs were significantly related to flavour intensity, flavour liking and overall liking. These findings support the use of TTCs as a viable means to accelerate the rate of beef ageing without compromising quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Crown Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lamb meat is cooked using different methods which help to impart good taste, flavour and aroma and they also improve the nutritional quality and ensure food safety. However traditional methods also induce some potential health hazards i.e. formation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic aromatic amines and acrylamides. These harmful compounds are produced through protein aggregation (protein increased with loss of water), lipid degradation (lipid breakdown due to cooking), oxidation (radicals formation due to heat and oxygen combination), and the Maillard reaction (reaction between sugars and amino acids). This review focuses on: 1) the use of modern cooking technologies to reduce the generation of hazardous compounds by a) applying low temperature cooking with minimum contact with the meat; b) faster cooking, with the added benefits of minimum nutritional losses and less energy consumption 2) the adoption of natural plant sources as extracts to: a) inhibit lipid oxidation; b) improve the stability of meat products to limit the generation of hazardous compounds., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is critical in the determination of eating quality. At present the Australian lamb industry has no ability to measure IMF as carcases are not split and processing speeds of up to 15 animals per minute prohibit the use of traditional methods. Consequently, the potential for a hand-held Near- Infrared (NIR) device to predict the IMF content of lamb topside in-situ was investigated. Models demonstrated that there is an ability to predict the IMF content of topside (R 2  = 0.58, RMSEP = 0.85) using NIR spectra collected at 24 h post-mortem and loin (R 2  = 0.50, RMSEP = 0.91). However, the models were limited by the range and distribution of the lamb population measured. Thus, further research is required to determine whether these models can be improved by increasing the range of data in the calibration models and considering alternate methods of analysis which are suitable for skewed populations., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, pH, meat color analysis, microbial counts and Raman spectroscopic data were obtained from beef steaks stored at 4 °C for up to 21 days using two different packaging methods: vacuum (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Models using partial least square regression (PLSR), indicated that Raman spectroscopy was able to predict total viable counts (TVC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) measured at 21d post mortem (TVC in VP: R 2 cv  = 0.99, RMSEP = 0.61; TVC in MAP: R 2 cv  = 0.90, RMSEP = 0.38; LAB in VP: R 2 cv  = 0.99, RMSEP = 0.54; LAB in MAP: R 2 cv  = 0.75, RMSEP = 0.60). The results of this study demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy may have potential for the rapid determination of meat spoilage., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The effect on alpaca meat quality from applying medium voltage electrical stimulation (ES) in combination with tenderstretching (TS; pubic symphysis suspended) to whole carcases was investigated, along with the effect of actinidin infusion on alpaca longissimus (LTL) quality. Carcases (n = 36) were allocated to either no ES + achilles hung; or ES + TS. The left- and right-hand side LTL of each carcase was allocated to one of three infusion treatments; no infusion (control), infusion with water or infusion with enzyme. Processing treatments reduced LTL and semimembranosus shear force without negatively impacting colour or oxidation traits. Infusion with enzyme reduced LTL shear force relative to control and water treatments but resulted in reduced consumer acceptance. The use of TS with ES in commercial alpaca processing is supported. There was no advantage to infusing alpaca LTL with actinidin as results indicate a net negative effect on consumer acceptance of this novel meat., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors acknowledge there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None.

Label-free proteomics was applied to understand the color and color stability development of dark cutting beef (DC). The color traits of DC (pH = 6.86) and normal beef (pH = 5.49) were determined during 7 days of display. DC had a lower redness and greater color stability, which was attributed to its higher deoxy-myoglobin content, greater oxygen consumption, as well as higher metmyoglobin reducing activity and lower lipid oxidation. A total of 28 differentially expressed mitochondrial proteins (fold change >1.8) between the two groups were identified, with 21 proteins overexpressed in DC mainly involved in oxidative phosphorylation, generation of reducing equivalent, TCA cycle and chaperones. These enhance the level of mitochondrial respiration, the stability of reducing MetMb and myoglobin and mitochondria function, leading to color characteristics of DC. Moreover, Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was for the first time reported to be significantly associated with color parameters and its direct relationship with meat color is worthy investigation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and this manuscript has been approved by all authors for publication. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described has not been published previously, and it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)