Effects of crossing domestic simmental with charolais and limousin breeds on carcass and meat quality

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study on the effects of crossing domestic Simmental with French fattening breeds, Charolais and Limousin, on carcass and meat quality. The quality of carcasses from domestic Simmental cattle and its crosses (N = 30) was analysed by total dissection for the proportion of retail cuts in the carcass and carcass tissues. Traits of meat sensory and technological quality were investigated using standard methods on a total of 96 carcasses. The results showed that crossing did not have a significant effect on the proportion of retail cuts except the proportion of tenderloin steak, which was significantly higher (P (lt) 0.01) in crosses with Charolais (1.87%) and Limousin (1.85%) compared to the domestic Simmental breed (1.38%). However, highly significant differences (P (lt) 0.01) were established for the level of tissue content in the whole carcass. The highest proportion of muscle tissue (81.5%) was determined in carcasses obtained from Limousin crosses, whereas the highest content of bone (16.45%) and fat tissue (5.26%) was recorded in carcasses of domestic Simmentals. Crossing had positive effects on the sensory quality of meat except for marbling, which scored very low in the crosses. In general, comparison of the parameters of sensory and technological quality of meat from the studied genotypes showed that the most desirable quality properties of the meat were obtained from crosses of domestic Simmental and Limousin breeds.