The incidence of dark cutting beef in Sweden

The incidence of DFD (Dark, Firm, Dry) in Swedish cattle was studied at four abattoirs and the influence of some parameters of special interest for the development of DFD were evaluated. The pH was measured in a total of 2686 carcasses of different categories. Carcasses with a pH(24) ≥ 6·2 were classified as being DFD. Only for electrically stimulated carcasses could the pH(24) be considered to be the ultimate pH value. DFD incidences of 3·4% and 13·2% were recorded as overall means for electrically stimulated and non-stimulated carcasses, respectively. The highest incidence was found in young bull carcasses having almost twice as high an incidence of DFD compared with the other categories. Considering seasonal variations, the highest incidence of DFD was found in the period May to August but significant differences in pH were found only for short lairage times. Overnight lairaging increased the incidence of DFD. However, the influence of the lairage time is closely related to the lairage conditions and needs further study.