title: Carcass quality and meat tenderness of Hawaii pasture-finished cattle and Hawaii-originated, mainland feedlot-finished cattle.
abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the carcass quality and meat tenderness of Hawaii cattle finished on subtropical pasture with those of mainland US feedlot-finished cattle that were shipped from Hawaii after weaning. Rib-eye steak samples were collected from 30 feedlot-finished cattle harvested at a slaughter house in Washington State, USA and from 13 subtropical pasture-finished cattle harvested at a local slaughter house in Hawaii, then shipped to meat science laboratory at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Samples were aged for 2 weeks at 4°C and frozen for later proximate analysis and meat tenderness measurement. Feedlot-finished cattle had significantly heavier carcass weight (353 vs 290 kg) and thicker backfat (13.5 vs 6.6 mm), but no significant difference was observed in rib-eye area between the two groups. Marbling score (Small) and United States Department of Agriculture quality grade (Choice) of the pasture-finished beef were not significantly (P < 0.05) different from those of feedlot-finished beef. The shear force value of pasture-finished beef (5.18 kg) was not statistically different (P < 0.05) from that of feedlot-finished beef (4.40 kg). In conclusion, results of this study suggest that Hawaii cattle finished on subtropical pasture produced as tender beef as mainland feedlot-finished cattle with less intramuscular fat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawaii, 1955 East-west Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. ykim@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Yong Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Glen Kazumi
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Fukumoto
authors.forename: Sunae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition; D002417:Cattle / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014481:United States; D016885:United States Department of Agriculture; D014861:Washington