Quality of beef from young bulls in extended fattening

Abstract

This paper presents the results from a study on the quality of beef obtained by slaughtering of young bulls with final mass of over 650 kg. In particular, bearing in mind the diminishing number of breeding animals in Serbia, it is essential that future fattening technology is based on the increase in pre slaughter body mass, in order to compensate the reduced number of cows and heifers and thus the production of beef. One of the ways for a fast and efficient increase of beef production per head is the increase in pre-slaughter body mass in order to provide greater quantity of beef per head. The current production practices are mainly finishing cattle fattening with about 450 kg to 500 kg. Based on the study results, it can be concluded that the group A (weight group of 650 kg) achieved a higher dressing percentage of warm, and cold carcass. The study of technological and sensory properties indicates that the group B (weight group of 500 kg) showed less cooking loss, while for other traits no difference was recorded. Overall it can be concluded that the increase in pre slaughter body mass can provide more than 30% of the amount of meat without diminishing the quality of beef. © 2016, National Centre for Agrarian Sciences. All rights reserved.