MUSCLE PROFILING STUDY TO ADD NEW VALUE TO BEEF

DENVER, CO (November 2, 2000) -- The final report on a checkoff funded study that should boost the value of beef from the chuck and round was rolled out to key audiences last week. The "muscle profiling" study was presented at a gathering of more than 100 major U.S. beef industry end-users and suppliers in Lincoln, Neb. Oct. 23-24.

Coordinated by the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association for the Cattlemen`s Beef Board, the study helps open the door to new, higher-value marketing opportunities for the chuck and the round. Research findings from the study will benefit all segments of the beef industry and ultimately provide consumers with new choices at the meat counter and in restaurants, according to Bucky Gwartney, director of research and technical services for NCBA.

"This new research identifies key muscle characteristics we need to explore if we`re going to find new, convenient ways of preparing cuts," Gwartney says. The study describes and catalogues the characteristics of 39 chuck and round muscles. Among the traits measured were fat content, color, pH, water-holding capacity, connective tissue content, bind capacity and tenderness.

The research was necessary to increase the value of cuts from the chuck and round. Although these primals represent about two-thirds of the carcass by volume, they represent less than 50 percent of the carcass by value. Time-consuming, traditional ways of cooking cuts from the chuck and round, such as pot roast, have lost favor among consumers. Partly as a result, consumer demand was shrinking during the 1980s and 90s.

In 1999, though, beef demand started to grow again. That trend has continued into 2000. Profiling of the chuck and round will accelerate that growth even further as new, consumer-friendly choices enter the market.

The muscle profiling study was conducted through a collaborative effort by the University of Florida, the University of Nebraska and NCBA`s Center for Research and Technical Services. At last week`s roll-out, retailers and suppliers reviewed its findings and explored how to adapt those findings to fit their needs. A detailed manual presented to participants identified each muscle by location, summarized its characteristics. The information will also be available in CD-ROM format by the first of next year.

This project was funded by beef producers through their $1-per-head checkoff and was produced for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The national beef checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. This 110-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the federal order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.

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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association is the  trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.