Beef Research Needs for the Future: End-User Perspective

Request for proposals and research priorities abound relative to beef quality, safety and sustainability. The objective of this paper is to propose emerging research areas relevant to retail stores, food service distributors and chefs. Consumers purchase beef based on a price:value relationship therefore future research must address the diversity of factors affecting beef demand while advancing science. Translating these biological discoveries into an enjoyable eating experience with margin opportunities for the entire supply chain should be the goal. Key areas of research and education include enhancing beef knowledge, managing carcass variation, understanding red meat yield and enhancing carcass utilization. Consumers still lack basic beef knowledge relative to quality indicators, preparation methods, and muscle nomenclature despite an increasing number of information sources. Meat Science Extension programs have the opportunity to serve as a reliable resource for meat fabrication and further processing while providing industry guidance in unifying nomenclature. Carcass weight continues to increase, resulting in greater primal and sub-primal weight variation. Future fabrication methods should offer solutions to address packing labor challenges and box count logistics while addressing end-user demand for consistent sizing. While considering alternative fabrication methods for heavier carcass weights, research should evaluate methodologies to accurately assess carcass yield across all biological types of cattle. Current yield grade calculations are consistent, however, the current equation is inadequate due to changes in cattle type and modern fabrication methods since formula inception. Despite consistent beef quality improvements across the industry, consumers can still influence eating satisfaction by cooking method and time. Research evaluating optimal muscle choice and comparable substitutes across a variety of preparations, aging methods, cooking times and temperatures would enhance recipe ideation needs. Specifically consider research to evaluate beef in context of consumer preparation temperatures rather than academic medium. The beef business is complex due to variation in carcass composition, fabrication method and end-user specifications. Each alternative processing decision has a consequence, future work should apply economic evaluation to these alternatives. Technology continues to advance yield and precision of sub-primal portioning yet innovative solutions to address packing labor challenges are lacking, these technological advances should strive to increase red meat yield while reducing labor needs in harvest or fabrication. Meat scientists can address the needs of end-users by taking a systems approach to beef research in order to develop economical solutions to logistical challenges while enhancing the consumer eating experience.