Research Shows One of the Keys to Tender Beef

Some beef brands already promise consumers a steak that is "guaranteed tender" every time.  Now, the results of a five year, checkoff-funded study may help cattlemen identify the animals that can produce that tenderness every time.

The Carcass Merit Project used DNA technology to evaluate 11 regions on various chromosomes in the cattle genome called Quantitative Trait Loci.  Their effect on heritable traits such as tenderness, ribeye area, juiciness, marbling and other qualities was measured across 14 breeds and 8,500 progeny. With the data collected, the individual breeds will be able to build expected progeny differences (EPDs) scores for tenderness, a quality consumers seek.

Funded by beef producers through their $1-per-head checkoff, the project was coordinated for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).  The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board's contractors for checkoff-funded programs.

"By improving the average tenderness level of beef available to consumers, the industry should see an increase in the value of beef and an overall increase in consumer expenditures," says Dave Nichols, Carcass Merit Steering Committee member and a seedstock producer from Bridgewater, Iowa. 

"The National Beef Tenderness study back in 1999 found that except for the tenderloin, there was a lot of variation for tenderness among beef cuts," says Elizabeth Dressler, director, Product Enhancement Research for NCBA.  "If consumers switch to another meat because their last steak was too tough, it costs the industry money.  We did the Carcass Merit Project to see if we could help cattlemen develop genetic selection tools that would aid in identifying cattle with quality traits that affect the overall eating satisfaction of consumers."

The research showed that, to varying degrees, all the breeds identified sires that can pass along valuable beef quality traits to their progeny.  It also provided helpful information about chromosomal regions within the bovine genome that influence these quality traits. That information and the extensive database will be a valuable tool for the further identification of genes and the development of commercially available gene tests for palatability traits.

As part of the study, researchers at Colorado State University were asked to assess the value of tenderness.  The greatest positive impact tenderness exerts on retail price seems to be for cuts that would grade USDA Choice or Select.  For instance, a 1 percent improvement in tenderness could result in a 4.2 percent higher price for Select cuts.

Also, researchers believe that improving tenderness will improve demand, with consumers spending more for beef. 

"While there are technologies that can address tenderness in the post-mortem phase, they are a perpetual cost," says Dressler.  "Making genetic improvements with sires that possess the desired tenderness and quality attributes presents a permanent fix to an old problem."

By developing a product mix that generally is more tender, the beef industry could see more market equilibrium and better revenue opportunities among Choice and Select grading beef.  Colorado State researchers estimate that a 10 percent improvement in tenderness would add about $150 to $170 million to the industry.

The data from the study would suggest there is room for improvement.  The Warner Bratzler Shear Force test measures tenderness by how much force is needed to cut a ¾-inch core of steak.  In this study, it was determined that consumers consider steak that requires 11 pounds or more of force as "slightly tough or tougher." 

The results found 26.2 percent of the cattle had Warner Bratzler scores of 11 pounds or greater.  A sensory panel scored 19.4 percent as slightly tough or tougher.  This is in line with previous studies that determined that as many as one in four steaks may be considered too tough to chew.

The results of the Carcass Merit project will play an important role in the future of genetic technology and selection for the cattle industry.  Cattle breeders can immediately utilize the results of this study by computing EPDs for shear force and sensory traits.  As for the future; the information and data collected for this project will aid the industry as it rapidly moves in the direction of selecting animals for end product quality.