Abstracts - Process et Technologies

Marbling is defined as fat infiltration between muscular fibers. Some recent studies confirm the positive impact of this criterion on the overall palatability of meat. This is why INTERBEV (the interbranch of the meat industry) has chosen to work on this criterion to meet consumer’s expectations in terms of organoleptic quality. An action plan has been drawn up on this topic and the measurement of marbling is the first step to be taken. It’s important to be able to measure this criterion to better understand how to manage it. In addition, the interbranch is proposing that slaughterhouses measure marbling to measure marbling to complete the other parameters (such as conformation, fatness score, carcass weight,…) that already exist, in order to better meet consumer expectations. IDELE (the French livestock institute) has developed a French grid, adapted to the French context to assess marbling levels. The grid has been tested in slaughterhouse and performances are satisfying. The grid has therefore been validated by IDELE and INTERBEV and an interbranch agreement supervises marbling measurements and defines how the grid is to be used. Studies are underway to improve reliability and efficiency of marbling measurements in vivo and on carcasses thanks to new technologies (artificial intelligence).

In Australia, quality assessment of the beef rib eye according to AUS-MEAT chiller assessment and MSA standards provides a means of describing saleable meat characteristics. One of the characteristics visually assessed is the amount of marbling. In Europe, a growing interest to evaluate the amount of marbling in beef rib eye is observed among slaughterhouses. Objective measurement technologies ensuring consistent, precise and standardised grading which can be adopted by the beef industry has in recent years become more and more important. The Q-FOM^TM Beef camera is an objective equipment that predicts the marbling score and chemical intramuscular fat percentage (IMF%). This paper summarises the prediction accuracy and precision of MSA marbling and chemical IMF% by the Q-FOM^TM Beef camera in Australian beef carcasses, quartered at 10th-13th rib, and European beef carcasses, quartered at the 4th-6th rib. The Q-FOM^TM Beef is highly accurate and predicts the MSA marbling score with a precision of approximately 50 MSA marbling points and chemical IMF 1.3% at both quartering sites. These results are important for both European and Australian beef industries. The Q-FOM^TM Beef camera is commercially available and suited for grading both at grading stations and in chiller.

For European abattoirs, the preferred carcass grading site is the 5th rib and cutting between the 10th and the 13th rib as in Australia is not desired as it could lead to a lower economic value of the carcass. Consequently, the aim of this study was to compare marbling, meat color and fat color grading scores on M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum at the 5th and the 10th thoracic vertebrae. The impact on beef eating quality prediction using the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading scheme was then evaluated for cull cows, which produce most of the beef consumed in France. Carcasses from 208 French cattle, mainly Limousine cows, were graded according to the Australian Beef Chiller Assessment System (ABCAS) used to implement the MSA system and its European equivalent, the 3G system. There was no significant difference between the 5th rib and the 10th rib in marbling score, and therefore in muscle global quality scores (MQ4) and in carcass MSA index calculated from the marbling values of the 5th or the 10th ribs. However, meat color was significantly darker and fat color significantly more yellow at the 10th rib than at the 5th rib. In France, marbling must be evaluated at the M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum at the 5th thoracic vertebrae according to the current interprofessional grid. The results of this study suggest that it could technically be carried out at this level according to MSA/3G standards for research on cattle breeds in Europe. However, further investigation and adjustments would be required for other critical carcass MSA/3G scores (such as rib fat thickness) when using European carcass quartering practices. 

Effect of the position of the gun on the brain damage caused by the captive bolt when stunning cattle
The impact of the position of the stun gun brain damage was studied in 19 cattle. The aim was to define a reliable method of damaging the Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS), which is strongly involved in consciousness. The positions tested were two positions located at the intersection of the diagonals between the animal's eye and the base of the opposite horn (Low position: Eye-hornB; High position: Eye-hornH) and two positions located in the middle of the line going from the top of the head to the line connecting the animal's two eyes (Low position: MedianB; High position: MedianH). When using the Eye-HornB position, the bolt usually passed below the brain. The Eye-HornB and Eye-HornH positions were influenced by the shape of the head. The MedianB and Eye-HornH positions resulted in damage to the ARAS in approximately half and three-quarters of the animals, respectively. The MedianH position produced satisfactory damage to the ARAS (within the target zone: 95% of the animals; at the limit of the target zone: 5% of the animals). The disadvantages of the latter position are a potentially too caudal position in some animals and the greater difficulty to use outer canthi of the eyes as a landmark. In conclusion, placing the gun 1 cm lower than the MedianH position, or about 2 to 3 cm higher than the Eye-hornH or MedianB positions, maximises the probability of damaging the ARAS, while limiting the risk of a too caudal position.

The concept of "rosé veal" is variously defined and underexplored in France. This type of production is well adapted for local breeds, as with Maraîchine. Slaughter performance data of rosé veal, extracted from a database comprising 119 calves observed between 2009 and 2023 at the INRAE experimental unit in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Prée, are presented. Biochemical and metabolic characteristics, as well as sensory and nutritional qualities of meat, were analyzed in a sample of 30 rosé veals (15 raised on maternal milk and grass (pasture and/or hay) (H diet) and 15 calves raised on maternal milk and supplemented with concentrates (C diet)) from 8 different farms. The calves have an average live weight of 219 kg, a carcass weight of 128 kg, and a meat weight of 90 kg. Carcass yields average 59%, and meat yields average 70%. Rosé veal meat is low in lipids (1.3g/100g of tissue) and exhibits a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) close to 20%, with a PUFA n-6/n-3 ratio near 2. Calf supplementation has significant impacts on meat quality. The H diet influences carcass conformation, meat color, iron content (+24%), and tenderness. It increases the proportion of slow and oxydo-glycolytic fibers by 53%. Some levels of healthy fatty acids, vitamin B2 and health indicators also increased. They resulted in a twofold enrichment in endogenous or exogenous antioxidants and decreased levels of vitamins B3 and B6.

The growing demand for high-quality meat has led to the development of a grading system aimed at assessing and improving the quality of beef. In Europe, the mandatory grading system is the EUROP grid, which focuses on carcass conformation and fattening. In contrast, the grading system based on the Australian methodology (Meat Standards Australia - MSA) predicts sensory quality previously assessed by non-expert consumers. However, to develop a system based on this methodology, it is first necessary to have a good understanding of the terminology and the relevance of the evaluation criteria. In general, to facilitate communication among stakeholders, ontologies are used to describe knowledge domains. Some technical terminologies are ambiguous and vary between countries, especially for meat products, which requires careful information collection to create an accurate database. The objective of this work is to identify, describe, and compare definitions from existing ontologies and databases for technical terms used in the evaluation of beef carcasses according to the Australian methodology. Fifty-six terms have been identified and grouped into eight categories. Their definitions extracted from about twenty terminological tools have been compared. The benefits of these comparisons include a better understanding of the domain, the possibility of choosing more precise variables, and improvements in research and communication. However, there are still challenges in finding specific terms, and it is essential to standardize commercial language to facilitate collaboration among meat industry professionals. In summary, it is necessary to create a single source with robust definitions for MSA grading system terms, as well as a global ontology for beef meat quality to standardize the analyses.