The beef industry says consumers want more tender meat. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association explains about how they are supplying it.
“I think it’s a number of things. The industry has really rallied to provide a high-quality consistent eating experience for our consumers. We’ve seen shifts in management practices, so whether that be control over genetics and things we’re using in terms of eating quality even to low-stress handling and things like that that are contributing to the eating experience that is happening on the live side. As we shift more into the products side, we’ve also had advances in how we’re handling products, chilling, aging, and things like that. We also have provided some additional content of how we’re cooking and preparing products. It’s really been a whole industry effort to help increase tenderness and the eating experience of beef,” said Dr. Jessica Lancaster, NCBA Director of Product Quality Research.
Dr. Lancaster also explains how beef is water-based, and what management strategies producers can use to make sure their product is top-quality.
“About 70 percent of the product is water, and so that’s the same for your muscles, but it also provides a unique opportunity of the management of that product because in beef, we do have an opportunity if not managed correctly, we can get some of those off flavors or some challenges that way. So, how we control and manage that water, even through the cooking process, is incredibly important because that’s what part of what contributes to that juiciness of beef,” Dr. Lancaster said.
For more information, click HERE.
