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The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of quality grade (QG) on the physicochemical composition and eating quality attributes of pork belly and shoulder butt. Seventy-two growing-finishing crossbred pigs were slaughtered and their carcasses were graded according to the Korean pork carcass grading system. Based on the grading criteria, the carcasses were classified into: QG 1 + (n=23), QG 1 (n=23) and QG 2 (n=26) groups. At 24 h postmortem, belly and shoulder butt cuts were collected from the QG groups and used for analysis of meat quality, flavor compounds and eating quality attributes. Results showed that the variation in fat content among QG was approximately 2% in the both cut types. The QG showed no effects on all the quality traits: cooking loss, pH and color of the belly or shoulder butt (p>0.05). Thirty-five flavor compounds comprising mainly fatty acids oxidation/degradation-derived products (e.g., aldehydes) and only few Maillard reaction-derived products (e.g., sulfur-and nitrogen-containing compounds) were identified. However, the QG showed a minor effect on the flavor profiles in both the belly and shoulder butt. Regarding the sensory quality, no effects of the QG were found on all the eating quality attributes (color, flavor, juiciness, tenderness and acceptability) for both the belly and shoulder butt cuts (p>0.05). Thus, it may be concluded that the current pork carcass grading standards do not reflect the real quality and value of the belly and shoulder butt cuts., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest., (© Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.)

The objective of this study was to compare tastes-related components and eating quality properties between Hanwoo steer and cow meats. Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles with same quality grade (1 + grade) collected from left sides of the steer and cow carcasses were used for analyses of technological quality traits, free amino acids (FAAs), metabolites, nucleotides, fatty acids and sensory attributes. there were no differences occurring in the chemical composition (fat, protein, moisture and collagen) and technological quality traits (cooking loss, water holding capacity, shear force and color) between the two beef types (p>0.05). The cow meat exhibited significantly higher amounts of some FAAs associated with umami (e.g., glutamic acid and lysine), sweetness (e.g., proline and glutamic acid) and saltiness (e.g., histidine and glutamic acid) compared to the steer meat (p<0.05). Regarding the nucleotides, no differences occurred in all the identified nucleotides between the two beef types (p>0.05). A total of 27 metabolites were identified, however, only some compounds (e.g., acetate, creatine, creatinine, glucose and inosine, etc.) showed their significantly higher amounts in the cow meat compared with those in the steer meat (p<0.05). In terms of sensory aspects, the panelists found no differences in scores of all the eating quality traits between the two sex types of beef (p>0.05). Overall, excepts some variations in tastes-active compounds, there were no differences in the quality characteristics in general and eating quality in particular between the cow and steer meats when they were in the same quality grade., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest., (© Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.)