Recent Posts
- Davey Griffin receives American Meat Science Association award
- Meagan Igo joining American Meat Science Association as Youth Programs Coordinator
- Amanda Smith receives Z.L. Carpenter Outstanding Graduate Student Award
- Leslie Frenzel receives Distinguished Graduate Student Award in Teaching
- Muscular steatosis
Seminars and Workshops
Rosenthal Meat Center
Companion websites
Category Archives: Research
Muscular steatosis
Muscular steatosis is a condition where muscle fibers have been replaced by fatty deposits, which creates a striking appearance in cuts of meat with it. Sometimes this condition is simply called “steatosis,” “callous,” “calloused lean” (other spellings include “callus,” “woody callused”), or because it is observed sometimes in the ribbed carcass, in this case, it is called “calloused ribeye.” Swatland (1994) stated that this condition is most often found in beef and pork and is thought to be caused by muscle damage or nerve degeneration where fatty tissue… Read More →
“Maximizing Meat Tenderness” webinar hosted by North American Meat Association, April 24, 2013
Below is a press release from the North American Meat Association regarding an upcoming webinar that I will be participating in. JWS North American Meat Association today announced that it is hosting a 90-minute webinar on “Maximizing Meat Tenderness” on April 24, 2013 at 2pm Eastern time. Consumer research indicates that tenderness is essential to a satisfying eating experience, and meat processors should take full advantage of the factors that contribute to it. This webinar is about controlling these factors and increasing tenderness. It will include indispensable information… Read More →
Persistent pinkness in ground beef patties
Persistent pinkness in cooked ground beef patties is of considerable concern for food service establishments. Consumers view ground beef patties that are pink in the middle as being undercooked and unsafe when, in reality, these patties may be fully cooked and safe to eat. Persistent pinkness can be caused by reducing agents, pH, nitrite contamination, and/or carbon monoxide from gas ovens. Raw beef contains myoglobin, which combines with oxygen to form oxymyoglobin, which has a bright red color. Meat color is regulated (mostly) by a heme ring on… Read More →
National Beef Tenderness Survey – 2010 article published
The February 2013 issue of the Journal of Animal Science contains the National Beef Tenderness Survey – 2010 article. Here is the citation and link to the abstract: Guelker, M. R., A. N. Haneklaus, J. C. Brooks, C. C. Carr, R. J. Delmore, Jr., D. B. Griffin, D. S. Hale, K. B. Harris, G. G. Mafi, D. D. Johnson, C. L. Lorenzen, R. J. Maddock, J. N. Martin, R. K. Miller, C. R. Raines, D. L. VanOverbeke, L. L. Vedral, B. E. Wasser, and J. W. Savell. 2013…. Read More →
National Beef Quality Audit – 2011 articles published
Just received the email notification from the Journal of Animal Science that the three articles on the National Beef Quality Audit we had responsibility for were published in the December issue. Here are the citations for these articles: McKeith, R. O., G. D. Gray, D. S. Hale, C. R. Kerth, D. B. Griffin, J. W. Savell, C. R. Raines, K. E. Belk, D. R. Woerner, J. D. Tatum, J. L. Igo, D. L. VanOverbeke, G. G. Mafi, T. E. Lawrence, R. J. Delmore, Jr., L. M. Christensen, S…. Read More →
Dark-cutting beef
To understand “dark cutting beef,” it is necessary to understand how the bright red color of beef occurs. At death, the muscle attempts to maintain all normal activities. To do so, it must have energy in the form of ATP. To get ATP, it breaks down glycogen through postmortem glycolysis. A by-product of postmortem glycolysis is lactic acid. Lactic acid builds up in the muscle over a 16 to 24 hour period post-slaughter. A normal level of lactic acid (pH of 5.6) in the muscle will cause the… Read More →
Cause of shiny, rainbow appearance on some cured meats
A natural phenomenon in cured meat (and some fresh meat) is the occurrence of iridescence or a rainbow appearance on the cut lean surface. Technically, this is referred to as birefringence. It is caused by the reflectance of light off of muscle proteins, and it is analogous to the color distribution produced by a prism. Muscle proteins are arranged in strands called myofilaments, which are bound together to form myofibrils. Myofibrils are bound together to form muscle fibers, which form together to form muscle bundles and finally whole… Read More →
Possible causes for white film on beef jerky
White film on beef jerky occurs occasionally and can be of concern to customers. This was originally prepared by Dr. Jimmy T. Keeton in response to questions about this condition. Possible causes of white film on beef jerky include: Mold – The white film could be mold on the surface if the product is packaged where oxygen can get to the surface (i.e., packaged in a jar, or non-vacuumed bulk pack), not vacuum packaged, nor backflushed with nitrogen. Mold requires oxygen to grow and will not grow if oxygen… Read More →
Brown color inside packages of ground beef
One of the frequent questions we have received from consumers over the years is this one: “Why is my package of ground beef brown in the middle?” We have had this question and answer on the Meat Science web page for years and have received many notes from retailers who have thanked us for providing this response to a question they have received many times from skeptical consumers. In steaks and roasts packaged in overwrap film, the color of the outside of the cut is bright red. Within… Read More →