Abstract:

In order to investigate the effect of age on beef quality, Yanbian yellow cattle of below 1, 1.5－3, 5－6 and 9－ 10 years old were chosen as the experiment subjects to determine the change of color, pH, metmyoglobin and TBARS in beef during frozen storage. Results indicated that the lowest metmyoglobin content and TBARS value were both observed in beef from cattle of 1.5－3 years old, and there was a significant difference between beef from cattle of 1.5－3 years old and that of5－6 or 9－10 years old (P＜0.05). In addition, beef from cattle of 1.5－3 years old exhibited the highest values of CIE a* and CIE c* (P＜0.05) and the lowest value of CIE h (P＜0.05). This suggests that the best Yanbian beef should be gained from cattle of 1.5 － 3 years old.

Key words: Yanbian yellow cattle, color, oxidative stability, ages, frozen storage