Meat Quality Factors Flashcards
What 4 categories impact the overall quality of meat?
- Security (hygienic quality).
- Healthiness (nutritional quality).
- Satisfaction (palatability).
- Serviceability (ease of use, ability to be processed, price).
What is the main question concerning the security of meat?
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.
What falls under the healthiness of meat?
- Protein content.
- Mineral content.
- Vitamin content.
- Energy content.
Why is meat a better source of protein than any other source?
The levels of essential amino acids it contains are almost equal to those found in muscle in the human body.
As a protein source, how is meat typically described?
Nutrient dense, but relatively low calorie.
What necessary mineral does meat NOT contain?
Calcium.
What 3 minerals is meat known to be an excellent source of?
- Iron (Heme variety).
- Magnesium.
- Zinc.
Are the minerals found in meat easily accessible by the body?
Yes, they are very bioavailable.
What 3 vitamins is meat an excellent source of?
- Vitamin A.
- B vitamins.
- Vitamin E.
What is the only naturally occurring source of vitamin B12?
Animal meat.
What are the 4 types of lipids found in meat?
- Fatty acids.
- Triglycerides.
- Cholesterol.
- Phospholipids.
How much more energy do lipids have than carbohydrates?
2.25 times the amount.
Can amino acids be converted to energy?
Yes, as a last resort.
What 4 factors contribute to satisfaction (palatability)?
- Appearance.
- Texture.
- Juiciness.
- Flavor.
What do customers perceive color as an indicator of?
Freshness.
What color should beef be?
Bright, cherry red.
What color should chicken be?
Light pink.
What color should lamb be?
Dark red.
What color should pork be?
Pale pink.
What 2 factors dictate the color of the meat?
- Age at harvest.
- Diet.
What is the % fat on beef?
3-42%.
*3-7% is considered to be lean enough to satisfy customers and preserve flavor.
What % fat is lamb?
14-27%.
What % fat is pork?
1.2-53%.
*Greatest is bacon.
What % fat is chicken?
2-13%.
*Greatest is nuggets.
What % fat is turkey?
0.7-18%
*Greatest is nuggets.
Why do consumers prefer boneless to bone-in meat?
- People do not want to pay for a bone that they are not going to eat or use.
- Boneless meat is easier to cook.
What is the desired texture goal with fish?
Firmness.
What is the desired texture goal with beef?
Tenderness.
Why is tenderness less of an issue in pork and poultry?
There carcasses experience a more rapid post-mortem pH drop.
Why is tenderness less of an issue in lamb?
They are harvested at a young age.
What temperature is meat stored at post-mortem?
4 C.
What 4 changes occur to the meat post-mortem?
- Muscle fiber cross sectional areas shrink.
- Muscle fibers fragment.
- Rupturing occurs along the Z-lines.
- Morphological changes to the connective tissue occur.
What 11 factors influence the palatability of beef?
- Aging of carcass or cuts.
- Age of animal.
- Breed.
- Cooking temperature.
- Electrical stimulation.
- Location of retail cuts.
- Marbling.
- Method of cooking.
- Rate of carcass cooling, carcass weight, fat cover.
- Rate of gain.
- Serving method.
How does aging the carcass or retail cuts affect tenderness?
It allows proteolytic breakdown of muscle fiber, which makes the meat more tender.
How does the age of an animal affect tenderness?
As animals age, more cross-linking within and between collagen fibers occurs, decreasing tenderness.
When is the most tender beef produced from fed steers and heifers?
12-24 months of age.
When bulls are fed concentrates, up to how many months of age can they produce tender beef?
15-16 months of age.
How does the breed of an animal affect tenderness?
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.
How does the cooking temperature affect tenderness?
Above an internal temperature of 145 F, beef starts to lose its tenderness.
Which breed group of beef cattle is known for being the most tender?
British breeds.
What temperature should hamburgers be cooked to according to USDA recommendations?
160 F.
How does electrical stimulation affect tenderness?
Electrically shocking the carcass speeds up rigor mortis and weakens myofibril structures, resulting in more tender meat.
How does the location of retail cuts affect tenderness?
Limb muscles have more collagen and are less tender, while loin muscle is the opposite.
How does the marbling affect tenderness?
Higher marbling tends to be an indicator of higher tenderness.
*Makes a 10-20% difference.
How does the method of cooking affect tenderness?
Moist cooking softens collagen, resulting in more tender meat.
What is moist cooking?
Cooking using liquid or steam.
ex: Braising, steaming, or stewing.
How does the rate of carcass cooling, carcass weight, and fat cover affect tenderness?
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.
How does daily gain affect tenderness?
A high daily gain increases protein turnover, which leads to higher myofibril fragmentation and collagen solubility, increasing tenderness.
How does serving method affect tenderness?
Tenderness is greatest when the beef is served hot.
What 2 factors determine the flavor of meat?
- The compounds in the intramuscular fat.
- Age of the meat.
What are the 2 types of diets that most animals are on?
- Forage-fed.
- Grain-fed.
Which meat, in terms of aroma and taste, do consumers prefer-forage fed or grain fed?
Grain fed.
What happens to flavor as marbling increases?
It increases.
What does aged beef taste like? Why?
- Acidic, tart, nutty.
- The production of amines in protein and nucleic acid breakdown.
What aging process leads to more intense flavor, dry-aging or wet-aging?
Dry-aging.
What two things is juiciness a result of?
- The release of meat fluids during the first few chews.
- The stimulating effect of fat on salivary flow.
How does marbling effect juiciness?
Highly marbled meat tends to be more juicy.
Order the following doneness levels from least juicy to most juicy: medium, well done, rare.
- Well done.
- Medium.
- Rare.
What type of beef is juicy even when well done?
Dark cutter beef, due to it high water holding capacity.
How does excessively pale meat hold up during cooking?
It dries out quickly due to having a low water holding capacity.
What 3 things does water holding capacity influence?
- Water loss during cooking.
- Rate and extent of post-mortem pH decrease.
- How exudative the meat is.
Rank the following animals in order from most feed efficient to least feed efficient: Sheep, chickens, cattle, pigs.
- Chickens.
- Pigs.
- Cattle.
- Sheep.
What does the feed efficiency of animals influence?
Their price, more feed efficient results in a lower price.
