Colour of subcutaneous adipose tissue and colour and tenderness of the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from Holstein-Friesian, Norwegian Red x Holstein-Friesian and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian cattle slaughtered at two live weights as bulls or steers

Meat quality traits for Holstein-Friesian (HF), Norwegian Red x Holstein-Friesian (NR) and Jersey x Holstein-Friesian (JE) cattle reared to slaughter as two genders (bulls and steers) and 2 slaughter weights (570 kg and 640 kg) were compared. Adipose tissue from JE was more yellow (p<0.05) than HF or NR which were similar. There was no difference between breeds and no breed-related interactions for chemical composition, cook loss or instrumental tenderness of longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle (LT). When adjusted for differences in lipid concentration, LT from NR-sired animals tended to be less red (p=0.058) and LT from JE-sired animals had a lower hue (p<0.05). Substitution of NR or JE for HF sires in the dairy herd will not have important effects on LT characteristics in the production systems examined but the more yellow carcasses from JE-sired cattle may limit their suitability for markets with a carcass fat colour specification.