PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FROZEN GROUND BEEF AND AGED BEEF FROM BOS INDICUS STEERS SUPPLEMENTED WITH α-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE

The color and lipid stability are important factors, among others, on the quality and acceptability of meat and meat products. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of diet supplementation with vitamin E of Nellore steers, on physical and chemical characteristics of frozen stored ground or aged Quadriceps femoris (QF) and Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles. These muscles were obtained of 24 animals, with 30 months of age and 279 kg of mean live weight, confined for 98 days. Daily, half of animals received 1000 mg of alpha-tocopherol acetate (VITE) added to 100 g of corn meal. Other half received 100 g of corn meal without the antioxidant. The animals were slaughter when the fat thickness measured between the 12(th) and 13(th) ribs reached 6 mm. Twenty four hours after slaughter, 7 samples of QF were grounded, frozen at -25 degrees C and stored for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months at -18 degrees C. Moreover, 4 samples with 2.5 cm in thickness were cut from the LD, individually vacuum packed and kept between 0 and 1 degrees C for aging for 1, 7, 14 and 21 days. All samples were analyzed to determination of the pH, color, and water holding capacity. Thus, the VITE supplementation improved only the water loss characteristics of frozen ground QF and did not present positive effect over the physical-chemical characteristics of the LD aged for up to 21 days.