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Beef strip loins from either the right or left side of 22 carcasses of Bos indicus-type steers were injected with 200 mM calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution at 5% (wt/wt) to determine its effect on tenderness and other selected quality traits of steaks. Loins from opposite sides of the carcasses were untreated and served as the control. The steaks were evaluated for tenderness, juiciness, flavor intensity, tenderness acceptability, and overall acceptability by 62 restaurant consumers over a 6-wk period. The CaCl2 injection improved (P < .05) tenderness and flavor intensity ratings by the restaurant consumers. Tenderness acceptability and overall acceptability were improved 23 and 17%, respectively, by the CaCl2 injection. Flavor was not compromised by the CaCl2 injection. The CaCl2-treated steaks were rated superior(P < .05) for flavor compared to the control steaks. Restaurant consumers preferred the beef loin strip steaks injected with 200 mM CaCl2 at 5% (wt/wt). The results of this study are interpreted to indicate that, from a restaurant consumer perspective, CaCl2 injection is an acceptable means of making beef a more consistently tender product.

The effects of removal of fat from hot beef carcasses on the shelf life of beef involved measuring the incidence of aerobic (TPC), lactic (LAC), and coliform (TCC) bacteria and the pathogen Escherichia coli (EC) from alternate sides that were hot-fat trimmed (HFT) or not trimmed (NFT) then subjected to a conventional 24-h chill. The biceps femoris, psoas major, longissimus thoracis et lumborum, and supraspinatus muscles were assayed. Higher (P < .05) TPC and EC counts were found for all muscles at 0 d than at 7 and 14 d of storage. The LAC and TCC counts were higher (P < .05) on all muscles after the 14 d of storage than after 0 or 7 d of storage. The significant differences in microbial counts were less than one log 10/g of tissue and therefore are of questionable importance. The HFT did not increase carcass microbial load compared with NFT. This study showed that HFT and accelerated processing of beef for the production of lean retail cuts did not adversely affect the shelf-life of vacuum-packaged beef.

Nine Brown Swiss and nine English crossbred steers representing the industry standard were slaughtered to determine the effects of cattle type and hot fat removal on subprimal yields and carcass value. After dressing, cod fat, kidney, pelvic, and heart fat (KPHF), and subcutaneous fat thicker than.6 cm was removed from the right side of each carcass (HFT). The left side was not hot-fat trimmed (NFT). Both sides were fabricated into subprimal cuts with no more than.6 cm of subcutaneous fat. Carcass side values were adjusted to a 300-kg chilled carcass weight basis. All comparisons were made for the carcasses using a USDA Select quality grade end point. English crossbred steer carcasses had more (P

Longissimus muscle sections were excised from eight pork carcasses 1 h postmortem and sectioned into six .5-kg roasts to determine the effects of glucose, salt and polyphosphates (aqueous solution to 110% of fresh weight) on palatability of hot-boned pork. Treatments were hot-boned control (HB) with no infusion or infusions of 2% KCl and 3% of a 1:1 mixture of sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium pyrophosphate (PP) plus either 8% NaCl; 2% glucose (G) plus 6% NaCl; 6% G plus 2% NaCl; or 8% G. Another muscle section was chilled at 0 degrees C for 24 h on each carcass as a cold-processed control (CP). The roasts were frozen until cooked and evaluated by a sensory panel. The infused groups were more tender, juicy and salty and higher in moisture and ash but lower in protein content than either the CP or HB controls (P less than .05). The fat content of the infused groups was lower than of the HB control but was not different from that of the CP control. Either 2% NaCl plus 6% G or equal amounts (4%) of NaCl and G produced the most tender and juicy product. The substitution of 4% glucose for NaCl not only reduced the NaCl content of the infusion solution, but also improved the palatability of the meat. This substitution allows production of a hot-boned, lower-sodium precooked pork that is tender and juicy.