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Updated: May 27, 2026

Exploring the Longissimus Muscle: Unraveling its Correlation with Meat Quality in Bos indicus and Crossbred Bulls
Published on: July 12, 2024
Effects of early post-mortem pH and temperature on beef tenderness
B B Marsh1, J V Lochner, G Takahashi
1Muscle Biology Laboratory, University of Wisconsin, 1805 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Abstract:
The tenderness of loin steaks, prepared from beef sides after chilling, is strongly influenced by muscle temperature in the first 3 h after slaughter. Maintenance of about 37°C within the Longissimus muscle during this time, whether by heavy fat cover or by ambient-temperature manipulation, results in appreciable tenderness enhancement. Early post-mortem muscle pH (which varies over a wide range) also affects tenderness significantly; provided early and exceptionally fast chilling does not induce cold shortening, slow glycolysis promotes tenderness. Low-frequency (2 Hz) electrical stimulation, which accelerates glycolysis but causes negligible tissue disruption, significantly toughens the loin; in its normal mode (50-60 Hz), therefore, stimulation produces its desirable tenderising effect mainly-and perhaps solely-by fibre fracture.
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