title: Comparison of some properties of meat from normal steers and steers heterozygous for muscular hypertrophy.
abstract: Carcase characteristics and meat properties of 19 normal steers and 14 steers heterozygous for muscular hypertrophy (HMH), killed at a liveweight of circa 360 kg and 500 days of age, were compared. Carcases of the HMH animals had less subcutaneous fat and a greater eye muscle area. It was considered that HMH animals were no more stress susceptible than control animals as plasma glucose concentrations at slaughter and ultimate pH values of the M. semitendinosus (ST) did not differ. ST sarcomere length and cooking losses did not differ between control and HMH animals. ST Warner-Bratzler (peak) shear force values and adhesion values were less in the HMH animals; these lower values would indicate that the ST of the HMH animals was more tender. These differences may have resulted from the difference in the mean age of the normal (527 days) and the HMH groups (489 days) at slaughter. However, other workers have found a reduced hydroxyproline content in muscles of homozygous double-muscled animals and the lower adhesion values of animals heterozygous for muscular hypertrophy may reflect the fact that they also have a lower connective tissue content in their muscles compared with normal animals.
authors: CSIRO, Division of Food Research, Meat Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 12, Cannon Hill, Queensland, 4170, Australia.
authors: P E
authors: PE
authors: Bouton
authors: P V
authors: PV
authors: Harris
authors: W R
authors: WR
authors: Shorthose
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Ellis