Electrical stimulation of ante-mortem stressed beef

Ten heifers were stressed before slaughter and one side of each animal was electrically stimulated. Six of the ten animals produced dark-cutting beef on the non-stimulated side. Electrical stimulation had no effect on muscle colour, ultimate pH, shear force or any of the sensory characteristics of muscle fibre tenderness, overall tenderness, connective tissue amount, juiciness, flavour desirability or overall palatability. The data from this study indicate that rapid pH decline is necessary for electrical stimulation to produce its desired effects and that neither the process of stimulation itself nor the contractions produced can cause improved quality of electrically stimulated beef if attendant changes in muscle pH do not occur.