Review: On-farm and processing factors affecting bovine carcass and meat quality

Summary

This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on beef carcass and meat quality, with particular emphasis on on-farm and processing factors associated with its high and inconsistent variability. The diversity of livestock systems comes from the diversity of breeds (dairy or beef), ages and gender (bulls, steers, heifers, cull cows) used to produce either mainly beef or beef and milk. In addition, there are factors linked to farming practices (including diet, especially grazing) which significantly influence the sensory, nutritional, technological and extrinsic (such as image) quality attributes of meat. These can become factors of positive differentiation when controlled by the application and certification of technical specifications. Finally, preslaughter (such as stress), slaughter (

Regional applicability

The review is grounded in European beef production systems and explicitly critiques gaps in European quality grading schemes, making findings directly applicable to United Kingdom livestock practice and regulation. The examples of grass versus concentrate finishing and European certification approaches are immediately relevant to UK beef sector decisions.

Key measures

Meat colour, fatty acid composition (omega-3), oxidative stability, lean proportion, productivity metrics (growth rate, feed conversion ratio), carcass weight, conformation, fatness, microbiological and sensory quality

Outcomes reported

The review synthesises knowledge on how on-farm factors (breed, diet, grazing), preslaughter conditions (stress), slaughter practices (chilling, hanging), and postslaughter processes (ageing, packaging) influence sensory, nutritional, technological and image quality attributes of beef. It identifies synergisms and antagonisms between different quality attributes and current gaps in European grading schemes.

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