- Email: [email protected]
Effects of sire breed and husbandry system on carcass, meat and eating quality of Piemontese and Limousin crossbred bulls and heifers
Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273–278
Effects of sire breed and husbandry system on carcass, meat and eating quality of Piemontese and Limousin crossbred bulls and heifers a, b a A.H. Hoving-Bolink *, W.J.A. Hanekamp , P. Walstra a
Institute for Animal Science and Health ( ID-DLO), Department of Food Science, P.O. Box 65, NL-8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands b Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry, Runderweg 6, 8219 PK Lelystad, The Netherlands Received 22 September 1997; accepted 19 July 1998
Abstract Effects of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle were examined. Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers were mated with Piemontese bulls or Limousin bulls. The offspring (75% beef breds) was used in two different husbandry systems for the production of meat. The young bulls (n 5 68) were kept indoors and fattened more intensively, grew quicker and were slaughtered at a younger age (18 versus 26 months) than the outdoor fattened heifers (n 5 43). Due to the commercial beef production systems in the Netherlands, the effect of the husbandry system was confounded with sex. Carcass and meat quality were determined as carcass weight, conformation score, fatness score, pH, meat colour, drip loss, heating loss, shearforce, intramuscular fat and sensory characteristics, such as tenderness, juiciness, aroma and liver taste. Results showed that the breed of sire had no major influence on meat quality of the loin, although Limousin offspring were fatter than Piemontese offspring. Differences in the husbandry system led to minor differences in meat quality of the loin of the crossbred offspring. Rapid growth within the husbandry system was related to a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality. 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Heifers; Bulls; Carcass quality; Meat quality; Sensory characteristics; Cross breeding; Husbandry system
1. Introduction Since the imposition of the 1984 farm milk quota in the Netherlands, the number of dairy cows has been reduced. To make profitable use of the farm lands and animal housing capacity which became available, alternative systems in which crossbred *Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 31-320-238238; fax: 1 31-320238050; e-mail: [email protected]
heifers are used have been considered. In a previous study (Hoving-Bolink et al., 1999) the effect of three different diets on carcass, meat and eating quality of once-bred Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers was studied as a part of a study to determine the feasibility of this beef production system (Hanekamp, 1991). To determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle, Piemontese 3 Friesian
0301-6226 / 99 / $ – see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0301-6226( 98 )00176-6
274
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
heifers were inseminated with semen from Piemontese or Limousin bulls. The commonly used rearing systems were chosen for male and female offspring, thus including confounding aspects in the experimental design. The male offspring was fattened in a husbandry system on an intensive ration and slaughtered at 18 months of age; while the heifers were raised on pasture during the summer periods and slaughtered at 26 months of age. This investigation was to determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality of 75% beef bred cattle.
2. Material and methods The study was conducted at an experimental farm of the Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry at Lelystad. During three consecutive years half of the Piemontese 3 Friesian crossbred heifers were inseminated with semen from Piemontese bulls (n 5 14), the other half with semen of Limousin bulls (n 5 10) to obtain the 75% beef bred cattle. Piemontese bulls were chosen because of a genetic improvement programme that was conducted in the Netherlands for reducing calving difficulties and good beef production capacity. Limousin was chosen as a third breed because of a possible heterosis effect. A total of 68 young bulls were fattened in groups. Five animals per pen of the same genotype were housed on slatted floor pens measuring 3.75 3 4 m. The fattening system was intensive, consisting of maize silage supplemented with 2.5 kg concentrates / day from 6 months on and the animals were slaughtered at about 18 months of age. A total of 43, non-inseminated heifers were reared in an extensive production system on pasture during the summer periods. In wintertime they were kept indoors in groups of seven animals per pen, where they received a mixture of maize silage and pre-wilted grass silage supplemented with concentrates. No measurements of feed intake were done. They were slaughtered at 26 months of age. Both heifers and young bulls were slaughtered, as soon as they reached optimum weight and maturity. Optimum maturity, as assessed in the live animal and
imposed by slaughterhouse and trade, meant a foreseen EUROP-fatness of 2 1 for the young bulls and 3 0 for the heifers. The animals were slaughtered on 17 different days. The carcasses were assessed for conformation (scale EUROP, from E 5 excellent to P 5 poor) and fatness (scale 1–5, from 1 5 none or low fatcover to 5 5 entire carcass covered with fat) according to the EUROP-system. The five classes for conformation and fatness are divided each into three subclasses: 1 , o or 2 (Walstra, 1991). The longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) was dissected at 20 h post mortem from the left side of all beef carcasses starting from the 9–10th rib. Each LTL was divided such that three slices of each 2.5 cm thickness of the longissimus thoracis (LT) part were used for assessment of meat quality and the longissimus lumborum (LL) part was frozen at 2 208C to evaluate sensory aspects at a later time. The pH of the meat was measured with a Schott CG 818 pH meter equipped with an Ingold Xerolyte electrode. Meat colour was measured with a Hunter labscan LS 5000 after 1 h blooming at 48C with a 50 mm measuring head. The waterholding capacity of meat was assessed by the filter paper test (Kauffman et al., 1986), by measuring drip loss after a 7-day storage at 48C and by assessing cooking loss after heating for 1 h at 758C. Warner Bratzler shearforce was measured as an average from ten cylinders of 1.26 cm diameter with an Adamel Lhomargy DY20B drawbench. Intramuscular fat was assessed by means of the Soxhlet-method (ISO Standard 1444, 1973). Sensory tests were carried out with a trained panel of 15 people, according to a Quantitative Descriptive Analysis method (Stone and Sidel, 1993). A line scale with verbal anchors was used. The palatability attributes include aroma (0 5 no aroma to 98 5 very aromatic, liver taste (0 5 no liver taste to 98 5 much liver taste), tenderness 16 (0 5 very tender to 98 5 very tough) and juiciness (0 5 very juicy to 98 5 very dry). A mixed analysis of variance model (see e.g. Engel, 1990) was used. Factors for series and combinations of husbandry system and sire breed were introduced in the model as independent variables. Dates of slaughter were introduced as random effects. With this model existing variation in meat quality at slaughter was studied, while the variation created during processing and post-mortem storage is
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
comprised within effects of day of slaughter. Calculations were performed with facilities for restricted maximum likelihood (REML) in Genstat 5 (GENSTAT 5 Committee, 1990).
275
As expected, carcass weight of heifers was significantly lower than that of bulls (330 versus 390 kg, respectively). The offspring of the Limousin sires were more than one subclass fatter than the offspring of the Piemontese sires (3 2 versus 2 1 ), but both groups were similar in conformation (U 2 ).
3. Results
3.2. Meat quality 3.1. Performance and carcass quality Young bulls were slaughtered at an average age of 560 days, while heifers were slaughtered at 845 days of age (Table 1). The mean roughage intake was 5 kg DM / day for the young bulls and the mean concentrate intake was 2.3 kg DM / day. Mean daily weight gain of the young bulls and heifers was 1000 and 560 g / day, respectively. Limousin bulls had a significantly higher daily gain than Piemontese bulls.
Ultimate pH, colour (Hunter L*-, a*- and b*values), and drip losses did not differ between genotypes or husbandry systems (Table 2). Results from the filter paper test showed lower waterholding capacity for heifers than for bulls. The 75% beef bred bulls had significant better instrumental tenderness values (lower shearforce) than Limousin heifers (4.3 versus 5.0, respectively). Meat from offspring of Limousin sires had significantly higher intramuscular
Table 1 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on growth and carcass quality traits 2 Parameter
Age (days) Live weight at slaughter (kg) Daily weight gain (g / day) Carcass weight (kg) EUROP-conformation EUROP-fatness 1 2
Young bulls:
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 37)
Lim (n 5 31)
Pie (n 5 20)
Lim (n 5 23)
561 a (12) 580 b (14) 979 b (24) 386 a (7) U2 21 a
563 a (12) 599 b (13) 1042 a (23) 394 a (8) U2 32 b
851 b (14) 517 a (16) 548 c (27) 327 b (9) U 2 / Uo 21 a
840 b (14) 532 a (15) 578 a (26) 329 b (8) U 2 / Uo 3o b
Pie 5 Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /;); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
Table 2 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on meat quality traits 2 Parameter
Ultimate pH Hunter L* Hunter a* Hunter b* Filter paper test (mg) Drip loss (%) Heating loss (%) Shearforce (daN) Intram. fat (%) 1 2
Young bulls:
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 37)
Lim (n 5 31)
Pie (n 5 20)
Lim (n 5 23)
5.52 (0.03) 36.7 (0.5) 17.9 (0.3) 14.5 (0.3) 24 a (4) 4.2 (0.3) 31.8 b (0.5) 4.3 a (0.2) 1.6 a (0.2)
5.51 (0.03) 36.9 (0.6) 18.0 (0.3) 14.8 (0.3) 32 a,b (4) 4.4 (0.3) 31.2 a,b (0.5) 4.3 a (0.2) 2.6 b (0.3)
5.51 (0.03) 35.5 (0.7) 18.0 (0.3) 14.2 (0.4) 36 b (5) 4.6 (0.3) 30.5 a (0.6) 4.4 a,b (0.3) 1.6 a (0.3)
5.44 (0.03) 36.5 (0.7) 18.1 (0.3) 15.0 (0.3) 39 b (5) 4.9 (0.3) 31.2 a,b (0.6) 5.0 b (0.3) 2.2 a,b (0.3)
Pie 5 Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
276
fat content than that of offspring of Piemontese sires (2.4 resp. 1.6%).
3.3. Sensory characteristics
4. Discussion
Aroma and tenderness were not affected by husbandry system or genotype (Table 3). Meat from heifers had significantly more liver taste than meat from Piemontese bulls. Limousin heifers scored the juiciest meat compared to meat from both bull groups.
3.4. Correlation coefficients Correlation coefficients for the 75% beef bred cattle between carcass fatness and intramuscular fat content was 0.78 for bulls and 0.76 for heifers. For bulls as well as for heifers, higher daily gain resulted in higher carcass weights (r 5 0.50 and 0.85, respectively), fatter carcasses (r 5 0.49 and 0.43, respectively) and better sensory tenderness (r 5 0.57 and 0.31, respectively). Daily gain did not affect meat colour, but a better carcass conformation resulted in a lighter colour (higher L*-value; r 5 0.47 and 0.45 for bulls and heifers, respectively). Particularly in bulls a higher Hunter L*-value was associated with a higher score for filter paper water loss and drip loss (r 5 0.53 and 0.53, respectively). All these correlation coefficients mentioned are significant (P , Table 3 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on sensory characteristics 2,3 Parameter
Aroma Liver taste Tenderness Juiciness 1
Young bulls:
0.05), except for the relationship with sensory tenderness of heifers.
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 24)
Lim (n 5 23)
Pie (n 5 14)
Lim (n 5 14)
51 (1) 24 a (1) 52 (2) 44 b (1)
50 (1) 27 b,c (1) 51 (2) 46 b (2)
49 (1) 30 c (1) 52 (3) 41 a,b (2)
50 (2) 29 c (1) 46 (3) 38 a (2)
Pie Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). 2 The palatability attributes include aroma (0 5 no aroma to 98 5 very aromatic), liver taste (0 5 no liver taste to 98 5 much liver taste), tenderness (0 5 very tender to 98 5 very tough) and juiciness (0 very juicy to 98 5 very dry). 3 Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
This investigation was to determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and production system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred offspring. Under current economic conditions the crossbred beef production system is not advisable, as stated in the previous study (Hoving-Bolink et al., 1999). The quality of the fresh beef is excellent, but such a system was not economically successful in the Netherlands. In both husbandry systems used in this study, offspring from Limousin sires had higher fatness scores at comparable age at slaughter than offspring from Piemontese sires. Mandell et al. (1997) found steers fatter than bulls and found an absence of breed differences between purebred Herefords and Simmentals probably due to the trend of increased age at slaughter for Simmentals relative to Herefords (503 to 435 days of age). Offspring of Limousin bulls had a higher daily gain than that of Piemontese bulls (1042 versus 979 g / day respectively) in the present study. This can be explained by the fact that the Piemontese breed matures at an earlier age than the ¨ 1985). However, this is Limousin breed (Bergstrom, not in line with fatness and percentage intramuscular fat of the carcasses. Augustini et al. (1990) stated that an intensive production system with a higher daily gain than an extensive system gives a better meat quality, and that for each genotype and sex an optimal feeding strategy has to be found. Furthermore, Langholz (1987) stated that intensive feeding and early maturing breeds easily form too much intramuscular fat. To correspond to the commercial beef production system and to avoid the female offspring in the current study becoming too fat, the heifers were reared in an extensive husbandry system. The differences in carcass fatness had no consequences for the meat and sensory characteristics measured. Our study showed that the breed of sire did not influence the meat quality characteristics of the loin, except for intramuscular fat. Limousin
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
offspring had a higher intramuscular fat content. The significantly higher intramuscular fat content did not result in significantly better sensory characteristics. Heifers produced lower carcass weights with comparable intramuscular fat contents at a higher age than young bulls, independent of sire breed. Steen and Kilpatrick (1995) produced heifers with higher fat classification, marbling score and total internal fats than steers and bulls on comparable nutrition on a high-forage production system. The effects of intramuscular fat content on sensory quality are contradictory in the literature; usually a higher intramuscular fat content is associated with better ¨ eating quality. Kogel et al. (1993) found that correlations of intramuscular fat content to aroma, tenderness and juiciness were surprisingly low, as was found in the present study. The results of Gwartney et al. (1996) indicated that it is possible to maintain marbling score and decrease amounts of fat in other depots of the carcass without compromising palatability. No major differences in meat quality were found between young bulls or heifers under our husbandry conditions. Schmidt (1994) compared meat quality of young bulls (three age categories), steers, heifers and cows. Young bulls over 20 months old had considerably tougher meat than the younger categories. Meat of 14–16 and 16–18 months old bulls obtained the same sensorial classification as meat of steers over 20 months of age and heifers of approximately 27 months of age. This is in agreement with the results of our study. Augustini et al. (1992) also found that meat quality of heifers was similar to that of bulls and that quality characteristics are more dependent on production system and age at slaughter than on genotype or sex. In their study bulls were fed intensively (603 kg mean live weight at 500 days), one group of heifers also intensively (450 kg at 15 months) and a second group of heifers extensively on pasture (530 kg at almost 2 years). Joseph (1975) concluded that neither steers or bulls, nor their chronological age (16 till 25 months) nor the breed of the animals appeared to affect tenderness in any consistent manner. Within husbandry system the results showed that rapid growth was related to a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality in our study. These results are in agreement with those of
277
Schmidt (1994) and Augustini et al. (1990). The latter found that rapid growth of beef cattle resulted in fatter, lighter and more tender meat. They explained the effects on colour and tenderness from the fact that as a result of the faster growth the animals were slaughtered at a younger age. Guhe (1992) fattened young bulls of various breeds indoors with high and medium fattening intensity, as well as outdoors on pasture. He found that cattle fed on pasture with a lower growth rate had darker meat. In our study no effects were found on colour, which is in contrast with his results. The big variation in meat quality characteristics within groups in our experiment is of influence to our results. In addition Shackelford et al. (1995) concluded that there was a 10-fold greater variation within each group than there was between the different age groups used in their study. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and production system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle. It may be concluded that differences between groups of 75% beef bred animals (50% Limousin / 25% Piemontese or 75% Piemontese) did not result in major differences in carcass, meat and eating quality of either young bulls or heifers reared in different husbandry systems. A breed effect, independent of husbandry system was found for EUROPfatness and intramuscular fat content. A higher growth rate resulted in a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and a better eating quality, independent of breed.
5. Conclusions The Piemontese and Limousin crossbred young bulls which were fattened indoors intensively, grew quicker and were slaughtered at a younger age than the outdoor fattened heifers. Results showed that the breed of sire did not influence meat quality of the loin, although Limousin offspring were fatter than Piemontese offspring. This also did not result in significant differences in eating quality between sire groups. Different production systems (bulls and heifers) resulted in minor differences in meat quality of the loin of the beef bred
278
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
offspring. Rapid growth was associated with a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality in each husbandry system.
Acknowledgements We thank the Dutch Product Boards for Livestock, Meat and Eggs at Rijswijk for financial support; Wolff Vlees Nederland BV at Twello for slaughtering the animals and Centrum voor Smaakonderzoek at Wageningen for performing the sensory tests and Dr. B. Engel and Mr. W. Buist for statistical support.
References Augustini, C., Temisan, V., Kalm, E., Guhe, M., 1990. Mastinten¨ und Fleischqualitat ¨ beim Rind. Mitteilungsblatt BAFF sitat Kulmbach, 29. Jahrgang: 123–129. (English summary). Augustini, C., Temisan, V., Kogel, J., 1992. Untersuchungen zur ¨ die Gebrauchskreuzung beim Frage geeigneter Vaterrassen fur ¨ von Bullen Deutschen Braunvieh. 5. Mitteilung: Fleischqualitat ¨ und Farsen. Zuchtungskunde 64:136–147 (English summary). ¨ Bergstrom, P.L., 1985. Faktoren die de lichaams— en karkassamenstelling beinvloeden. IVO-Rapport B 258, Zeist (English summary). Engel, B., 1990. The analysis of unbalanced linear models with variance components. Statistica Neerlandica 44, 195–219. GENSTAT 5 Committee, 1990. GENSTAT 5 Release 2 Reference Manual Supplement, Payne, R.W. and Lane, P.W. NAG. Guhe M., 1992. Genetische und produktionstechnische Analyse des Slachtkdrperwertes und der Fleischbeschaffenheid von Jungbullen. Heft 68. Dissertation. Kiel (English summary). Gwartney, B.L., Calkins, C.R., Rasby, R.J., Stock, R.A., Vieselmeyer, B.A., Gosey, J.A., 1996. Use of expected progeny differences for marbling in beef: II. Carcass and palatability traits. J. Anim. Sci. 74, 1014–1022. Hanekamp, W.J.A., 1991. Vleesproduktie met Piemontese 3 zwartbonte kruislingvaarzen. Verslag van 3 ronden op ROC De Vlierd. Rapport nr. 131 van het Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry, Lelystad (with English summary).
Hoving-Bolink, A.H., Hanekamp, W.J.A., Walstra, P., 1999. Effects of diet on carcass, meat and eating quality of once-bred Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers. Livest. Prod. Sci. 57, 267–272. ISO Standard 1444, 1973. Meat and Meat Products. Determination of Free Fat Content, 1st edition, 04–15. Joseph, R.L., 1975. Carcass composition and meat quality in once calved heifers. In: J.C. Taylor (Ed.), The Early Calving of Heifers and its Impact on Beef Production. Copenhagen, pp. 143–156. Kauffman, R.G., Eikelenboom, G., Van der Wal, P.G., Merkus, G., Zaar, M., 1986. The use of filter paper to estimate drip loss of porcine musculature. Meat Sci. 18, 191–200. ¨ Kogel, J., Dempfle, L., Augustini, C. 1993. Wiederholbarkeiten, ¨ Heritabilitaten und Korrelationen von Merkmalen der Fleisch¨ zueinander sowie zu Nettozunahme und Merkmalen qualitat der Muskelfuelle bei Braunvieh und Braunvieh-Kreuzung¨ stieren, Zuchtungskunde 65, 348–369. (with English summary). Mandell, I.B., Gullett, E.A., Wilton, J.W., Kemp, R.A., Allen, O.B., 1997. Effects of gender and breed on carcass traits, chemical composition, and palatability attributes in Hereford and Simmental bulls and steers. Livest. Prod. Sci. 49, 235–248. Langholz, H.J. 1987. In: H.J. Langholz (Ed.), Studies on Beef Production from Females. Luxembourg. Report EUR 9741 EN. ¨ Schmidt, G. 1994. Schlachtkorperzusammensetzung und Fleisch¨ beschaffenheit von Rindern und Moglichkeiten der Nutzung im ¨ Rahmen von Qualitatsprogrammen. Dissertation. Kiel. Heft 79 (English summary). Shackelford, S.D., Koohmaraie, M., Wheeler, T.L., 1995. Effects of slaughter age on meat tenderness and USDA carcass maturity scores of beef females. J. Anim. Sci. 73 (11), 3304– 3309. Steen, R.W.J., Kilpatrick, D.J., 1995. Effects of plane of nutrition and slaughter weight on the carcass composition of serially slaughtered bulls, steers and heifers of three breed crosses. Livest. Prod. Sci. 43, 205–213. Stone, H., Sidel, J.L., 1993. Sensory Evaluation Practices, 2nd edition. Academic Press Inc. California, pp. 202–242. Walstra, P., 1991. Classification Systems in the European Community. Proc. 44th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference: pp. 143–146.
Effects of sire breed and husbandry system on carcass, meat and eating quality of Piemontese and Limousin crossbred bulls and heifers a, b a A.H. Hoving-Bolink *, W.J.A. Hanekamp , P. Walstra a
Institute for Animal Science and Health ( ID-DLO), Department of Food Science, P.O. Box 65, NL-8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands b Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry, Runderweg 6, 8219 PK Lelystad, The Netherlands Received 22 September 1997; accepted 19 July 1998
Abstract Effects of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle were examined. Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers were mated with Piemontese bulls or Limousin bulls. The offspring (75% beef breds) was used in two different husbandry systems for the production of meat. The young bulls (n 5 68) were kept indoors and fattened more intensively, grew quicker and were slaughtered at a younger age (18 versus 26 months) than the outdoor fattened heifers (n 5 43). Due to the commercial beef production systems in the Netherlands, the effect of the husbandry system was confounded with sex. Carcass and meat quality were determined as carcass weight, conformation score, fatness score, pH, meat colour, drip loss, heating loss, shearforce, intramuscular fat and sensory characteristics, such as tenderness, juiciness, aroma and liver taste. Results showed that the breed of sire had no major influence on meat quality of the loin, although Limousin offspring were fatter than Piemontese offspring. Differences in the husbandry system led to minor differences in meat quality of the loin of the crossbred offspring. Rapid growth within the husbandry system was related to a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality. 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Heifers; Bulls; Carcass quality; Meat quality; Sensory characteristics; Cross breeding; Husbandry system
1. Introduction Since the imposition of the 1984 farm milk quota in the Netherlands, the number of dairy cows has been reduced. To make profitable use of the farm lands and animal housing capacity which became available, alternative systems in which crossbred *Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 31-320-238238; fax: 1 31-320238050; e-mail: [email protected]
heifers are used have been considered. In a previous study (Hoving-Bolink et al., 1999) the effect of three different diets on carcass, meat and eating quality of once-bred Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers was studied as a part of a study to determine the feasibility of this beef production system (Hanekamp, 1991). To determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle, Piemontese 3 Friesian
0301-6226 / 99 / $ – see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S0301-6226( 98 )00176-6
274
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
heifers were inseminated with semen from Piemontese or Limousin bulls. The commonly used rearing systems were chosen for male and female offspring, thus including confounding aspects in the experimental design. The male offspring was fattened in a husbandry system on an intensive ration and slaughtered at 18 months of age; while the heifers were raised on pasture during the summer periods and slaughtered at 26 months of age. This investigation was to determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and husbandry system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality of 75% beef bred cattle.
2. Material and methods The study was conducted at an experimental farm of the Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry at Lelystad. During three consecutive years half of the Piemontese 3 Friesian crossbred heifers were inseminated with semen from Piemontese bulls (n 5 14), the other half with semen of Limousin bulls (n 5 10) to obtain the 75% beef bred cattle. Piemontese bulls were chosen because of a genetic improvement programme that was conducted in the Netherlands for reducing calving difficulties and good beef production capacity. Limousin was chosen as a third breed because of a possible heterosis effect. A total of 68 young bulls were fattened in groups. Five animals per pen of the same genotype were housed on slatted floor pens measuring 3.75 3 4 m. The fattening system was intensive, consisting of maize silage supplemented with 2.5 kg concentrates / day from 6 months on and the animals were slaughtered at about 18 months of age. A total of 43, non-inseminated heifers were reared in an extensive production system on pasture during the summer periods. In wintertime they were kept indoors in groups of seven animals per pen, where they received a mixture of maize silage and pre-wilted grass silage supplemented with concentrates. No measurements of feed intake were done. They were slaughtered at 26 months of age. Both heifers and young bulls were slaughtered, as soon as they reached optimum weight and maturity. Optimum maturity, as assessed in the live animal and
imposed by slaughterhouse and trade, meant a foreseen EUROP-fatness of 2 1 for the young bulls and 3 0 for the heifers. The animals were slaughtered on 17 different days. The carcasses were assessed for conformation (scale EUROP, from E 5 excellent to P 5 poor) and fatness (scale 1–5, from 1 5 none or low fatcover to 5 5 entire carcass covered with fat) according to the EUROP-system. The five classes for conformation and fatness are divided each into three subclasses: 1 , o or 2 (Walstra, 1991). The longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) was dissected at 20 h post mortem from the left side of all beef carcasses starting from the 9–10th rib. Each LTL was divided such that three slices of each 2.5 cm thickness of the longissimus thoracis (LT) part were used for assessment of meat quality and the longissimus lumborum (LL) part was frozen at 2 208C to evaluate sensory aspects at a later time. The pH of the meat was measured with a Schott CG 818 pH meter equipped with an Ingold Xerolyte electrode. Meat colour was measured with a Hunter labscan LS 5000 after 1 h blooming at 48C with a 50 mm measuring head. The waterholding capacity of meat was assessed by the filter paper test (Kauffman et al., 1986), by measuring drip loss after a 7-day storage at 48C and by assessing cooking loss after heating for 1 h at 758C. Warner Bratzler shearforce was measured as an average from ten cylinders of 1.26 cm diameter with an Adamel Lhomargy DY20B drawbench. Intramuscular fat was assessed by means of the Soxhlet-method (ISO Standard 1444, 1973). Sensory tests were carried out with a trained panel of 15 people, according to a Quantitative Descriptive Analysis method (Stone and Sidel, 1993). A line scale with verbal anchors was used. The palatability attributes include aroma (0 5 no aroma to 98 5 very aromatic, liver taste (0 5 no liver taste to 98 5 much liver taste), tenderness 16 (0 5 very tender to 98 5 very tough) and juiciness (0 5 very juicy to 98 5 very dry). A mixed analysis of variance model (see e.g. Engel, 1990) was used. Factors for series and combinations of husbandry system and sire breed were introduced in the model as independent variables. Dates of slaughter were introduced as random effects. With this model existing variation in meat quality at slaughter was studied, while the variation created during processing and post-mortem storage is
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
comprised within effects of day of slaughter. Calculations were performed with facilities for restricted maximum likelihood (REML) in Genstat 5 (GENSTAT 5 Committee, 1990).
275
As expected, carcass weight of heifers was significantly lower than that of bulls (330 versus 390 kg, respectively). The offspring of the Limousin sires were more than one subclass fatter than the offspring of the Piemontese sires (3 2 versus 2 1 ), but both groups were similar in conformation (U 2 ).
3. Results
3.2. Meat quality 3.1. Performance and carcass quality Young bulls were slaughtered at an average age of 560 days, while heifers were slaughtered at 845 days of age (Table 1). The mean roughage intake was 5 kg DM / day for the young bulls and the mean concentrate intake was 2.3 kg DM / day. Mean daily weight gain of the young bulls and heifers was 1000 and 560 g / day, respectively. Limousin bulls had a significantly higher daily gain than Piemontese bulls.
Ultimate pH, colour (Hunter L*-, a*- and b*values), and drip losses did not differ between genotypes or husbandry systems (Table 2). Results from the filter paper test showed lower waterholding capacity for heifers than for bulls. The 75% beef bred bulls had significant better instrumental tenderness values (lower shearforce) than Limousin heifers (4.3 versus 5.0, respectively). Meat from offspring of Limousin sires had significantly higher intramuscular
Table 1 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on growth and carcass quality traits 2 Parameter
Age (days) Live weight at slaughter (kg) Daily weight gain (g / day) Carcass weight (kg) EUROP-conformation EUROP-fatness 1 2
Young bulls:
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 37)
Lim (n 5 31)
Pie (n 5 20)
Lim (n 5 23)
561 a (12) 580 b (14) 979 b (24) 386 a (7) U2 21 a
563 a (12) 599 b (13) 1042 a (23) 394 a (8) U2 32 b
851 b (14) 517 a (16) 548 c (27) 327 b (9) U 2 / Uo 21 a
840 b (14) 532 a (15) 578 a (26) 329 b (8) U 2 / Uo 3o b
Pie 5 Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /;); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
Table 2 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on meat quality traits 2 Parameter
Ultimate pH Hunter L* Hunter a* Hunter b* Filter paper test (mg) Drip loss (%) Heating loss (%) Shearforce (daN) Intram. fat (%) 1 2
Young bulls:
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 37)
Lim (n 5 31)
Pie (n 5 20)
Lim (n 5 23)
5.52 (0.03) 36.7 (0.5) 17.9 (0.3) 14.5 (0.3) 24 a (4) 4.2 (0.3) 31.8 b (0.5) 4.3 a (0.2) 1.6 a (0.2)
5.51 (0.03) 36.9 (0.6) 18.0 (0.3) 14.8 (0.3) 32 a,b (4) 4.4 (0.3) 31.2 a,b (0.5) 4.3 a (0.2) 2.6 b (0.3)
5.51 (0.03) 35.5 (0.7) 18.0 (0.3) 14.2 (0.4) 36 b (5) 4.6 (0.3) 30.5 a (0.6) 4.4 a,b (0.3) 1.6 a (0.3)
5.44 (0.03) 36.5 (0.7) 18.1 (0.3) 15.0 (0.3) 39 b (5) 4.9 (0.3) 31.2 a,b (0.6) 5.0 b (0.3) 2.2 a,b (0.3)
Pie 5 Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
276
fat content than that of offspring of Piemontese sires (2.4 resp. 1.6%).
3.3. Sensory characteristics
4. Discussion
Aroma and tenderness were not affected by husbandry system or genotype (Table 3). Meat from heifers had significantly more liver taste than meat from Piemontese bulls. Limousin heifers scored the juiciest meat compared to meat from both bull groups.
3.4. Correlation coefficients Correlation coefficients for the 75% beef bred cattle between carcass fatness and intramuscular fat content was 0.78 for bulls and 0.76 for heifers. For bulls as well as for heifers, higher daily gain resulted in higher carcass weights (r 5 0.50 and 0.85, respectively), fatter carcasses (r 5 0.49 and 0.43, respectively) and better sensory tenderness (r 5 0.57 and 0.31, respectively). Daily gain did not affect meat colour, but a better carcass conformation resulted in a lighter colour (higher L*-value; r 5 0.47 and 0.45 for bulls and heifers, respectively). Particularly in bulls a higher Hunter L*-value was associated with a higher score for filter paper water loss and drip loss (r 5 0.53 and 0.53, respectively). All these correlation coefficients mentioned are significant (P , Table 3 Effect of sire breed 1 for crossbred bulls and heifers on sensory characteristics 2,3 Parameter
Aroma Liver taste Tenderness Juiciness 1
Young bulls:
0.05), except for the relationship with sensory tenderness of heifers.
Heifers:
Pie (n 5 24)
Lim (n 5 23)
Pie (n 5 14)
Lim (n 5 14)
51 (1) 24 a (1) 52 (2) 44 b (1)
50 (1) 27 b,c (1) 51 (2) 46 b (2)
49 (1) 30 c (1) 52 (3) 41 a,b (2)
50 (2) 29 c (1) 46 (3) 38 a (2)
Pie Piemontese ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /); Lim 5 Limousin ? 3 (Piemontese ? 3 Friesian /). 2 The palatability attributes include aroma (0 5 no aroma to 98 5 very aromatic), liver taste (0 5 no liver taste to 98 5 much liver taste), tenderness (0 5 very tender to 98 5 very tough) and juiciness (0 very juicy to 98 5 very dry). 3 Means and standard errors of means (SEM) are presented. Means with a different letter differ significantly (P , 0.05).
This investigation was to determine the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and production system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred offspring. Under current economic conditions the crossbred beef production system is not advisable, as stated in the previous study (Hoving-Bolink et al., 1999). The quality of the fresh beef is excellent, but such a system was not economically successful in the Netherlands. In both husbandry systems used in this study, offspring from Limousin sires had higher fatness scores at comparable age at slaughter than offspring from Piemontese sires. Mandell et al. (1997) found steers fatter than bulls and found an absence of breed differences between purebred Herefords and Simmentals probably due to the trend of increased age at slaughter for Simmentals relative to Herefords (503 to 435 days of age). Offspring of Limousin bulls had a higher daily gain than that of Piemontese bulls (1042 versus 979 g / day respectively) in the present study. This can be explained by the fact that the Piemontese breed matures at an earlier age than the ¨ 1985). However, this is Limousin breed (Bergstrom, not in line with fatness and percentage intramuscular fat of the carcasses. Augustini et al. (1990) stated that an intensive production system with a higher daily gain than an extensive system gives a better meat quality, and that for each genotype and sex an optimal feeding strategy has to be found. Furthermore, Langholz (1987) stated that intensive feeding and early maturing breeds easily form too much intramuscular fat. To correspond to the commercial beef production system and to avoid the female offspring in the current study becoming too fat, the heifers were reared in an extensive husbandry system. The differences in carcass fatness had no consequences for the meat and sensory characteristics measured. Our study showed that the breed of sire did not influence the meat quality characteristics of the loin, except for intramuscular fat. Limousin
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
offspring had a higher intramuscular fat content. The significantly higher intramuscular fat content did not result in significantly better sensory characteristics. Heifers produced lower carcass weights with comparable intramuscular fat contents at a higher age than young bulls, independent of sire breed. Steen and Kilpatrick (1995) produced heifers with higher fat classification, marbling score and total internal fats than steers and bulls on comparable nutrition on a high-forage production system. The effects of intramuscular fat content on sensory quality are contradictory in the literature; usually a higher intramuscular fat content is associated with better ¨ eating quality. Kogel et al. (1993) found that correlations of intramuscular fat content to aroma, tenderness and juiciness were surprisingly low, as was found in the present study. The results of Gwartney et al. (1996) indicated that it is possible to maintain marbling score and decrease amounts of fat in other depots of the carcass without compromising palatability. No major differences in meat quality were found between young bulls or heifers under our husbandry conditions. Schmidt (1994) compared meat quality of young bulls (three age categories), steers, heifers and cows. Young bulls over 20 months old had considerably tougher meat than the younger categories. Meat of 14–16 and 16–18 months old bulls obtained the same sensorial classification as meat of steers over 20 months of age and heifers of approximately 27 months of age. This is in agreement with the results of our study. Augustini et al. (1992) also found that meat quality of heifers was similar to that of bulls and that quality characteristics are more dependent on production system and age at slaughter than on genotype or sex. In their study bulls were fed intensively (603 kg mean live weight at 500 days), one group of heifers also intensively (450 kg at 15 months) and a second group of heifers extensively on pasture (530 kg at almost 2 years). Joseph (1975) concluded that neither steers or bulls, nor their chronological age (16 till 25 months) nor the breed of the animals appeared to affect tenderness in any consistent manner. Within husbandry system the results showed that rapid growth was related to a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality in our study. These results are in agreement with those of
277
Schmidt (1994) and Augustini et al. (1990). The latter found that rapid growth of beef cattle resulted in fatter, lighter and more tender meat. They explained the effects on colour and tenderness from the fact that as a result of the faster growth the animals were slaughtered at a younger age. Guhe (1992) fattened young bulls of various breeds indoors with high and medium fattening intensity, as well as outdoors on pasture. He found that cattle fed on pasture with a lower growth rate had darker meat. In our study no effects were found on colour, which is in contrast with his results. The big variation in meat quality characteristics within groups in our experiment is of influence to our results. In addition Shackelford et al. (1995) concluded that there was a 10-fold greater variation within each group than there was between the different age groups used in their study. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of sire breed (Piemontese versus Limousin) and production system (for heifers or young bulls) on carcass, meat and eating quality on 75% beef bred cattle. It may be concluded that differences between groups of 75% beef bred animals (50% Limousin / 25% Piemontese or 75% Piemontese) did not result in major differences in carcass, meat and eating quality of either young bulls or heifers reared in different husbandry systems. A breed effect, independent of husbandry system was found for EUROPfatness and intramuscular fat content. A higher growth rate resulted in a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and a better eating quality, independent of breed.
5. Conclusions The Piemontese and Limousin crossbred young bulls which were fattened indoors intensively, grew quicker and were slaughtered at a younger age than the outdoor fattened heifers. Results showed that the breed of sire did not influence meat quality of the loin, although Limousin offspring were fatter than Piemontese offspring. This also did not result in significant differences in eating quality between sire groups. Different production systems (bulls and heifers) resulted in minor differences in meat quality of the loin of the beef bred
278
A.H. Hoving-Bolink et al. / Livestock Production Science 57 (1999) 273 – 278
offspring. Rapid growth was associated with a higher carcass weight, a better conformation and better eating quality in each husbandry system.
Acknowledgements We thank the Dutch Product Boards for Livestock, Meat and Eggs at Rijswijk for financial support; Wolff Vlees Nederland BV at Twello for slaughtering the animals and Centrum voor Smaakonderzoek at Wageningen for performing the sensory tests and Dr. B. Engel and Mr. W. Buist for statistical support.
References Augustini, C., Temisan, V., Kalm, E., Guhe, M., 1990. Mastinten¨ und Fleischqualitat ¨ beim Rind. Mitteilungsblatt BAFF sitat Kulmbach, 29. Jahrgang: 123–129. (English summary). Augustini, C., Temisan, V., Kogel, J., 1992. Untersuchungen zur ¨ die Gebrauchskreuzung beim Frage geeigneter Vaterrassen fur ¨ von Bullen Deutschen Braunvieh. 5. Mitteilung: Fleischqualitat ¨ und Farsen. Zuchtungskunde 64:136–147 (English summary). ¨ Bergstrom, P.L., 1985. Faktoren die de lichaams— en karkassamenstelling beinvloeden. IVO-Rapport B 258, Zeist (English summary). Engel, B., 1990. The analysis of unbalanced linear models with variance components. Statistica Neerlandica 44, 195–219. GENSTAT 5 Committee, 1990. GENSTAT 5 Release 2 Reference Manual Supplement, Payne, R.W. and Lane, P.W. NAG. Guhe M., 1992. Genetische und produktionstechnische Analyse des Slachtkdrperwertes und der Fleischbeschaffenheid von Jungbullen. Heft 68. Dissertation. Kiel (English summary). Gwartney, B.L., Calkins, C.R., Rasby, R.J., Stock, R.A., Vieselmeyer, B.A., Gosey, J.A., 1996. Use of expected progeny differences for marbling in beef: II. Carcass and palatability traits. J. Anim. Sci. 74, 1014–1022. Hanekamp, W.J.A., 1991. Vleesproduktie met Piemontese 3 zwartbonte kruislingvaarzen. Verslag van 3 ronden op ROC De Vlierd. Rapport nr. 131 van het Research Station for Cattle, Sheep and Horse Husbandry, Lelystad (with English summary).
Hoving-Bolink, A.H., Hanekamp, W.J.A., Walstra, P., 1999. Effects of diet on carcass, meat and eating quality of once-bred Piemontese 3 Friesian heifers. Livest. Prod. Sci. 57, 267–272. ISO Standard 1444, 1973. Meat and Meat Products. Determination of Free Fat Content, 1st edition, 04–15. Joseph, R.L., 1975. Carcass composition and meat quality in once calved heifers. In: J.C. Taylor (Ed.), The Early Calving of Heifers and its Impact on Beef Production. Copenhagen, pp. 143–156. Kauffman, R.G., Eikelenboom, G., Van der Wal, P.G., Merkus, G., Zaar, M., 1986. The use of filter paper to estimate drip loss of porcine musculature. Meat Sci. 18, 191–200. ¨ Kogel, J., Dempfle, L., Augustini, C. 1993. Wiederholbarkeiten, ¨ Heritabilitaten und Korrelationen von Merkmalen der Fleisch¨ zueinander sowie zu Nettozunahme und Merkmalen qualitat der Muskelfuelle bei Braunvieh und Braunvieh-Kreuzung¨ stieren, Zuchtungskunde 65, 348–369. (with English summary). Mandell, I.B., Gullett, E.A., Wilton, J.W., Kemp, R.A., Allen, O.B., 1997. Effects of gender and breed on carcass traits, chemical composition, and palatability attributes in Hereford and Simmental bulls and steers. Livest. Prod. Sci. 49, 235–248. Langholz, H.J. 1987. In: H.J. Langholz (Ed.), Studies on Beef Production from Females. Luxembourg. Report EUR 9741 EN. ¨ Schmidt, G. 1994. Schlachtkorperzusammensetzung und Fleisch¨ beschaffenheit von Rindern und Moglichkeiten der Nutzung im ¨ Rahmen von Qualitatsprogrammen. Dissertation. Kiel. Heft 79 (English summary). Shackelford, S.D., Koohmaraie, M., Wheeler, T.L., 1995. Effects of slaughter age on meat tenderness and USDA carcass maturity scores of beef females. J. Anim. Sci. 73 (11), 3304– 3309. Steen, R.W.J., Kilpatrick, D.J., 1995. Effects of plane of nutrition and slaughter weight on the carcass composition of serially slaughtered bulls, steers and heifers of three breed crosses. Livest. Prod. Sci. 43, 205–213. Stone, H., Sidel, J.L., 1993. Sensory Evaluation Practices, 2nd edition. Academic Press Inc. California, pp. 202–242. Walstra, P., 1991. Classification Systems in the European Community. Proc. 44th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference: pp. 143–146.