Effect of Breed and Finishing System on Meat Quality from Beef Cattle

This study evaluated the meat quality of three cattle breeds finished in two feeding systems. Bulls of three genetic groups (n=113): Nellore (N), ½ Angus x ½ Nellore (AN) and ½ Senepol x ½ Nellore (SN), were randomly assigned to two feeding systems groups: pasture (PA, n=57), and feedlot (FE, n=56). Bulls from both systems were supplemented (2% BW) daily with high concentrate diet (16% CP and 78% TDN). After 110 d the bulls were slaughtered at a commercial beef plant. The carcasses were stored in a chilling chamber at 4^oC. Three steaks from Longissimus muscle (2.5 cm thick) were cut between 11^st to 13^rd ribs, vacuum packaged individually and assigned to 1, 7 and 14 d ageing periods. Were analyzed muscle pH, thawing loss (TL) cooking loss (CL), water holding capacity (WHC), color and warner-bratzler shear force (SF). The results were analyzed by ANOVA using GLM procedures in SAS 9.0, with a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, and the averages were compared at 5% level of significance. The pH muscle (1, 7 and 14 d ageing time) was not influenced by feeding system or breed. The feeding system affected some quality parameters, TL were lower for PA group compared to FE group on 1 d ageing time (7.86 and 10.18%, respectively, P=0.006), CL were greater on 7 d for FE group (26.16 and 24.31%; P=0.047), WHC were greater on 1 d for PA group (68.13, 64.34%; P<0.001) and on 14 d as well (69.37, 67.75%; P=0.004). The meat color from FE group was greater compared to PA group, lightness (L*) was greater on all days examined (1, 7 and 14 d, P<0.001), redness (a*) was greater on 1 d (P=0.020) on FE group but were lower on 7 and 14 d (P=0.026, P=0.002, respectively) compared to PA group, yellowness (b*) was greater on 1 and 14 d on FE group (P<0.001 and P=0.047). The SF was better on FE group during all ageing time. The breed influenced L*, on 7 d ageing time, SN group was greater compared to NE group, however SN and AN groups did not differ from each other. On 14 d ageing time, AN and SE groups were similar, but both were greater than NE group. In this study, the meat quality parameters were more affected by feeding systems than breed