Meat Quality Factors

Question 1

What 4 categories impact the overall quality of meat?

Answer 1

1. Security (hygienic quality).
2. Healthiness (nutritional quality).
3. Satisfaction (palatability).
4. Serviceability (ease of use, ability to be processed, price).

Question 2

What is the main question concerning the security of meat?

Answer 2

Is the meat safe to eat?
*The answer is normally yes due to how heavily regulated meat production is and how much inspection meat products undergo.

Question 3

What falls under the healthiness of meat?

Answer 3

1. Protein content.
2. Mineral content.
3. Vitamin content.
4. Energy content.

Question 4

Why is meat a better source of protein than any other source?

Answer 4

The levels of essential amino acids it contains are almost equal to those found in muscle in the human body.

Question 5

As a protein source, how is meat typically described?

Answer 5

Nutrient dense, but relatively low calorie.

Question 6

What necessary mineral does meat NOT contain?

Answer 6

Calcium.

Question 7

What 3 minerals is meat known to be an excellent source of?

Answer 7

1. Iron (Heme variety).
2. Magnesium.
3. Zinc.

Question 8

Are the minerals found in meat easily accessible by the body?

Answer 8

Yes, they are very bioavailable.

Question 9

What 3 vitamins is meat an excellent source of?

Answer 9

1. Vitamin A.
2. B vitamins.
3. Vitamin E.

Question 10

What is the only naturally occurring source of vitamin B12?

Answer 10

Animal meat.

Question 11

What are the 4 types of lipids found in meat?

Answer 11

1. Fatty acids.
2. Triglycerides.
3. Cholesterol.
4. Phospholipids.

Question 12

How much more energy do lipids have than carbohydrates?

Answer 12

2.25 times the amount.

Question 13

Can amino acids be converted to energy?

Answer 13

Yes, as a last resort.

Question 14

What 4 factors contribute to satisfaction (palatability)?

Answer 14

1. Appearance.
2. Texture.
3. Juiciness.
4. Flavor.

Question 15

What do customers perceive color as an indicator of?

Answer 15

Freshness.

Question 16

What color should beef be?

Answer 16

Bright, cherry red.

Question 17

What color should chicken be?

Answer 17

Light pink.

Question 18

What color should lamb be?

Answer 18

Dark red.

Question 19

What color should pork be?

Answer 19

Pale pink.

Question 20

What 2 factors dictate the color of the meat?

Answer 20

1. Age at harvest.
2. Diet.

Question 21

What is the % fat on beef?

Answer 21

3-42%.
*3-7% is considered to be lean enough to satisfy customers and preserve flavor.

Question 22

What % fat is lamb?

Answer 22

14-27%.

Question 23

What % fat is pork?

Answer 23

1.2-53%.
*Greatest is bacon.

Question 24

What % fat is chicken?

Answer 24

2-13%.
*Greatest is nuggets.

Question 25

What % fat is turkey?

Answer 25

0.7-18% *Greatest is nuggets.

Question 26

Why do consumers prefer boneless to bone-in meat?

Answer 26

1. People do not want to pay for a bone that they are not going to eat or use. 2. Boneless meat is easier to cook.

Question 27

What is the desired texture goal with fish?

Answer 27

Firmness.

Question 28

What is the desired texture goal with beef?

Answer 28

Tenderness.

Question 29

Why is tenderness less of an issue in pork and poultry?

Answer 29

There carcasses experience a more rapid post-mortem pH drop.

Question 30

Why is tenderness less of an issue in lamb?

Answer 30

They are harvested at a young age.

Question 31

What temperature is meat stored at post-mortem?

Answer 31

4 C.

Question 32

What 4 changes occur to the meat post-mortem?

Answer 32

1. Muscle fiber cross sectional areas shrink. 2. Muscle fibers fragment. 3. Rupturing occurs along the Z-lines. 4. Morphological changes to the connective tissue occur.

Question 33

What 11 factors influence the palatability of beef?

Answer 33

1. Aging of carcass or cuts. 2. Age of animal. 3. Breed. 4. Cooking temperature. 5. Electrical stimulation. 6. Location of retail cuts. 7. Marbling. 8. Method of cooking. 9. Rate of carcass cooling, carcass weight, fat cover. 10. Rate of gain. 11. Serving method.

Question 34

How does aging the carcass or retail cuts affect tenderness?

Answer 34

It allows proteolytic breakdown of muscle fiber, which makes the meat more tender.

Question 35

How does the age of an animal affect tenderness?

Answer 35

As animals age, more cross-linking within and between collagen fibers occurs, decreasing tenderness.

Question 36

When is the most tender beef produced from fed steers and heifers?

Answer 36

12-24 months of age.

Question 37

When bulls are fed concentrates, up to how many months of age can they produce tender beef?

Answer 37

15-16 months of age.

Question 38

How does the breed of an animal affect tenderness?

Answer 38

Bos taurus indicus cattle meat contains higher levels of calpastatin than Bos taurus meat. Calpastatin inhibits the degradation of calpain during the aging process, making Bos taurus indicus meat less tender.

Question 38

How does the cooking temperature affect tenderness?

Answer 38

Above an internal temperature of 145 F, beef starts to lose its tenderness.

Question 38

Which breed group of beef cattle is known for being the most tender?

Answer 38

British breeds.

Question 39

What temperature should hamburgers be cooked to according to USDA recommendations?

Answer 39

160 F.

Question 40

How does electrical stimulation affect tenderness?

Answer 40

Electrically shocking the carcass speeds up rigor mortis and weakens myofibril structures, resulting in more tender meat.

Question 41

How does the location of retail cuts affect tenderness?

Answer 41

Limb muscles have more collagen and are less tender, while loin muscle is the opposite.

Question 42

How does the marbling affect tenderness?

Answer 42

Higher marbling tends to be an indicator of higher tenderness. *Makes a 10-20% difference.

Question 43

How does the method of cooking affect tenderness?

Answer 43

Moist cooking softens collagen, resulting in more tender meat.

Question 44

What is moist cooking?

Answer 44

Cooking using liquid or steam. ex: Braising, steaming, or stewing.

Question 45

How does the rate of carcass cooling, carcass weight, and fat cover affect tenderness?

Answer 45

Too rapid cooling results in cold shortening of the sarcomeres, resulting in less tender meat. Heavier carcasses and/or carcasses with more fat cover are less susceptible to this occurring.

Question 46

How does daily gain affect tenderness?

Answer 46

A high daily gain increases protein turnover, which leads to higher myofibril fragmentation and collagen solubility, increasing tenderness.

Question 47

How does serving method affect tenderness?

Answer 47

Tenderness is greatest when the beef is served hot.

Question 48

What 2 factors determine the flavor of meat?

Answer 48

1. The compounds in the intramuscular fat. 2. Age of the meat.

Question 49

What are the 2 types of diets that most animals are on?

Answer 49

1. Forage-fed. 2. Grain-fed.

Question 50

Which meat, in terms of aroma and taste, do consumers prefer-forage fed or grain fed?

Answer 50

Grain fed.

Question 51

What happens to flavor as marbling increases?

Answer 51

It increases.

Question 52

What does aged beef taste like? Why?

Answer 52

1. Acidic, tart, nutty. 2. The production of amines in protein and nucleic acid breakdown.

Question 53

What aging process leads to more intense flavor, dry-aging or wet-aging?

Answer 53

Dry-aging.

Question 54

What two things is juiciness a result of?

Answer 54

1. The release of meat fluids during the first few chews. 2. The stimulating effect of fat on salivary flow.

Question 55

How does marbling effect juiciness?

Answer 55

Highly marbled meat tends to be more juicy.

Question 56

Order the following doneness levels from least juicy to most juicy: medium, well done, rare.

Answer 56

1. Well done. 2. Medium. 3. Rare.

Question 57

What type of beef is juicy even when well done?

Answer 57

Dark cutter beef, due to it high water holding capacity.

Question 57

How does excessively pale meat hold up during cooking?

Answer 57

It dries out quickly due to having a low water holding capacity.

Question 58

What 3 things does water holding capacity influence?

Answer 58

1. Water loss during cooking. 2. Rate and extent of post-mortem pH decrease. 3. How exudative the meat is.

Question 59

Rank the following animals in order from most feed efficient to least feed efficient: Sheep, chickens, cattle, pigs.

Answer 59

1. Chickens. 2. Pigs. 3. Cattle. 4. Sheep.

Question 60

What does the feed efficiency of animals influence?

Answer 60

Their price, more feed efficient results in a lower price.