Compensatory growth in crossbred Aberdeen Angus and Belgian Blue steers: Effects on the colour, shear force and sensory characteristics of longissimus muscle

The effect of feed restriction (99 days) followed by compensatory growth during a 200 day re-alimentation period on the colour and sensory characteristics of meat from Aberdeen Angus × Holstein-Friesian (AN) and Belgian Blue × Holstein-Friesian (BB) steers was examined. Compensatory growth had no effect on muscle pH and temperature decline, chemical composition, drip loss, fat colour, or juiciness, but increased (P = 0.009) Warner-Bratzler shear force and decreased tenderness (P = 0.08) and overall liking (P = 0.09). Compared to meat from BB steers, meat from AN steers had a higher intramuscular fat concentration and was rated similarly for tenderness, but higher for many of the flavour characteristics examined. While adjustment for intramuscular fat concentration removed some of these differences, genotype-specific flavour differences remained. It is concluded that genotype had greater effects on meat quality than the compensatory growth feeding regime imposed in this study.