Category: Quality and Consistency
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Window of Acceptability: A 25-year look back
This is the 25th anniversary of one of the most important and significant contributions that Dr. H. Russell Cross and I may have ever made to the livestock and meat industries: the development of the “Window of Acceptability.” This window not only helped demonstrate the amount of fat in meat necessary for tenderness and flavor,…
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Line of fat observed in New York Strip Steaks
We received a request to answer the question why there was a line of fat sometimes present in beef strip steaks. A customer of a meat purveyor had requested a credit for this “defect,” and this is the photo that was sent to us to help answer why this line of fat was present. Gatlan…
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Food Safety, Former Students, Graduate Students, Quality and Consistency, Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Dr. Ashley Arnold appointed as Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Ashley (Haneklaus) Arnold has been appointed as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University effective September 1, 2013 under the supervision of Drs. Kerri Harris and Jeff Savell. Dr. Arnold has been involved with the Meat Science program as a student and staff member, and in her new…
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Discolored edges on beef briskets | Texas Barbecue
Discolored edges on beef briskets Posted by Jeff Savell at Texas Barbecue It is not uncommon these days to pick up a vacuum packaged brisket at a grocery store and see a discolored edge on it. This discoloration may be subtle or it may be quite distinct and is usually gray or brown, which contrasts…
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Beef producers improve meat quality | ASAS Taking Stock
Beef producers improve meat quality by Laci Jones The National Beef Quality Audit recently published their findings from the 2011 audit in the Journal of Animal Science. The new NBQA shows that producers have improved beef cattle genetics and management. Compared with previous audits, the researchers across the United States found more black-hided cattle, less…
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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Muscular steatosis is a condition where muscle fibers have been replaced by fatty deposits, which creates a striking appearance in cuts of meat with it.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…
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“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…
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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,…
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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.…
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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.…
