title: Meat tenderness and the gap filaments.
abstract: A theory is developed relating the myofibrillar component of meat tenderness to a third set of filaments in the sarcomere: the 'gap filaments'. It is prooposed that the gap filaments set the limit to the tensile strength of the raw or heat-denatured myofibril. The basic process of ageing appears to be an attack by 'calcium-activated factor' (CAF) on the integrity of these filaments. An attempt is made to give an integrated picture of the role of both gap filaments and connective tissue in determining the tensile properties of raw, lightly cooked and well cooked meat.
authors: Meat Industry Research Institute of New Zealand, PO Box 617. Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors: R H
authors: RH
authors: Locker
authors: G J
authors: GJ
authors: Daines
authors: W A
authors: WA
authors: Carse
authors: N G
authors: NG
authors: Leet