Meat supplies easily absorbed iron and assists in the absorption of iron from other foods as well as zinc, and is a concentrated source of high-quality protein and some of the B vitamins and its essential amino acids content usually compensate for deficiencies in diets made up mainly of cereals and other vegetable proteins.
Because fresh meat is animal tissue that is suitable for use as food, the quality characteristics are influenced by various factors such as muscle structure, chemical composition, chemical environment, interaction of chemical constituents, postmortem (p.m.) changes in muscle tissues, stress and pre-slaughter effects, product handling, processing and storage, microbiological numbers and populations, etc.
Meat quality should be defined by most consumer preferences. The most important meat quality attributes include tenderness, taste, juiciness, leanness, nutrient quantities (i.e., calories, vitamins content, fatty acids profile, etc.), safety and convenience. However, there is great variation in the chemical and physical components of beef, which can be attributed to factors such as the breed, sex, and age of the animals, nutrition and anatomical position of the cut.
The consumers decide the quality of fresh meat during purchases by using its color which is an important property to determine the quality of meat. Discolored meat is related to the conversion of oxymyoglobin to metmyoglobin in the chuck and round muscle. Red meats such as beef or lamb are usually bright red in color as an indication of the freshest meat available.
High-quality beef meat has firm, velvety, fine-grained lean, bright red in colour and well-marbled. The fat is smooth, creamy white, and well distributed. In young beef the bones are soft, porous, and red; the less desirable mature beef has hard white bones.
Marbling - interspersed fat – gives a deeper, more delicious taste. . It should feel firm, as cold fat is hard. A fatty coating also contributes to helping the meat retain its juice and taste while cooking.
Consumers want the meat they eat to not only taste better but also be safe, nutritious, and have an extended shelf life.
Fresh meat quality characteristics
