Abstract
Discoloration costs the beef industry billions of dollars annually. The objective of the current study was to determine the effects of alternative aging strategies and cold storage management on shelf-life and sensory attributes of longissimus thoracis (LT) and gluteus medius (GM) steaks. At 4 d postmortem, boneless beef ribeye rolls (n=32; IMPS 112A) and boneless beef top sirloin butts (n=32; IMPS 184B) from USDA Choice carcasses were randomly assigned to one of four treatments and aged to 35 d postmortem. Treatments included control (2oC; C), deep chill (-1.5oC; DC), blast freezing (-20oC; BF), and flash freezing (dry ice, storage at -20oC; FF). On day 35, fluid loss was determined for each subprimal. Steaks were cut from each and analyzed for: objective color, lipid oxidation, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). Deep chill LT steaks had the highest average a* values, while FF steaks maintained the lowest (P < 0.01). In GM steaks, DC and C steaks had the highest a* values (P < 0.01). Lipid oxidation exhibited an aging treatment by day of retail display interaction for LT steaks (P < 0.01) and GM steaks (P = 0.04). Control steaks from both muscles had the highest TBARS values by day 3 of retail display, and FF steaks maintained the lowest TBARS values through day 3 of retail display. In summary, across all three days of retail display, refrigeration treatments led to steaks with higher a* values, and freezing treatments led to lower levels of lipid oxidation. Therefore, alternative aging and cold storage strategies can improve potential profits for the beef industry.