Eating quality of beef from free-range and confined Podolian young bulls1,2

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of grazing on meat quality of young Podolian bulls by using 6 free-ranging (FR) and 6 confined (CON) animals slaughtered at 18 mo of age (Exp. 1). A second experiment (Exp. 2) was performed the subsequent year where the age at slaughter was 15 mo of age (6 animals/group). Quantitative descriptive sensory analysis, water-holding capacity (WHC; thawing, centrifugation, and cooking losses), and shear force (only in Exp. 2) were evaluated on LM, aged 8 d. Both experiments showed that CON animals produced beef with greater overall beef flavor (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively) and odor intensities (P < 0.10 and P < 0.05 in Exp. and 1 and 2, respectively) and increased malondialdehyde contents (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively). In Exp. 2 beef from FR bulls showed higher sensory tenderness as compared with CON bulls (P < 0.05) and a lower shear force (P < 0.05). In Exp. 1, beef obtained from FR bulls showed lower centrifugation and greater thawing losses compared with samples from bulls from group CON (P < 0.05) whereas rearing system did not affect any WHC variables in Exp. 2. The results obtained from the 2 experiments were generally consistent. The different results occasionally observed (e.g., sensory tenderness and WHC) is attributed to the different ages at slaughter used in the 2 experiments (18 and 15 mo). In particular, at an earlier age at slaughter (15 mo) the effect of FR on meat quality was beneficial on sensory tenderness and mechanical properties. Therefore, given the additional costs of maintaining the bulls for another 3 mo when slaughtered at 18 mo of age, a reduced age at slaughter of FR bulls may be suggested to avoid the decrement of herbage mass availability inducing the consumption of high amounts of concentrate.