ABSTRACT
Despite industry efforts to control the eating and nutritional quality of beef, there remains a high level of variability in these quality traits, which is one reason for consumer dissatisfaction (Alfnes et al. 2008). In addition, there is a severe competition between beef and white meats, the price of the latter being low compared to beef. Consumers also have increasing concerns about safety and health factors, the latter
11.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 333 11.2 Main Quality Criteria of Beef ...................................................................... 335
11.2.1 Sensory Quality of Beef ................................................................... 335 11.2.2 Fatty Acid Composition of Beef ....................................................... 336 11.2.3 Health Benets of Beef ..................................................................... 337
11.3 Effects of Animal Characteristics on Sensory Quality ................................ 337 11.3.1 Effect of Breed Type ......................................................................... 339 11.3.2 Effect of Age ..................................................................................... 341 11.3.3 Effect of Gender ............................................................................... 342 11.3.4 Recent Research to Better Understand the Determinism
of Tenderness .................................................................................... 342 11.4 Effects of Livestock Practices on Sensory Quality of Beef.......................... 343
11.4.1 Effect of Feeding Level on Sensory Qualities .................................. 343 11.4.2 Effect of Compensatory Growth on Sensory Qualities ....................344 11.4.3 Effect of the Nature and Composition of the Diet ............................344
