Effect of Postmortem Neck-Arm Restraint on Beef Quality
WEN Kaixin, XU Chenchen, ZHAGN Yang, FENG Yonghong, YE Zhibing, CUI Fanrong, WANG Xu, ZHU Tingxin, SUN Baozhong
1.Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; 2.Institute of Research Livertock, Xinjiang Academy of Animal Sciences, ürümqi 830000, China; 3.Department of Animal Science, Xinjiang Yili Vocational and Technical College, Yili 835000, China; 4.Yixin Cattle and Sheep Breeding Farmer Cooperative, Yili 835000, China
Abstract：The neck-arm restraint technique is a technique for accelerating the aging of beef carcasses by imposing a radial external force between the distal end of the forearm and the front end of the neck on the basis of Achilles tendon suspension. In order to study the effect of this treatment on beef quality, six Xinjiang brown cattle with similar ages and body masses were selected and slaughtered. Postmortem aging of the left half of the carcass was carried out with Achilles tendon suspension plus neck-arm restraint, while Achilles tendon suspension was used for postmortem aging of the right half. The pH value, water loss rate, cooking loss, shear force and ultrastructure of Triceps brachii, Longissimus dorsi and Biceps femoris were measured at 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 and 21 d after slaughter. The results showed that compared with the control group, the experimental group had increased water loss rate, reduced shear force and increased myofibrillar fragmentation index, with significant differences being observed between the two groups. In addition, the muscle fiber structure in the experimental group was more severely damaged. To conclude, neck-arm restraint can significantly shorten the aging time of beef carcasses, reduce the production cost, and improve the production efficiency.
2020, Vol. 34 
