THE GROWTH PATTERNS OF CARCASS TISSUES WITHIN WHOLESALE CUTS IN FATTENING STEER
Abstract: An investigation was
conducted on beef carcasses, aimed at identifying the growth patterns of
wholesalecuts and their tissues in steer during fattening phase. This study
involved 69 grass-fed steers with a liveweightrange of 300 to 600 kg. They had
entered, or were progressing along, their fat deposition phase. Anallometric
model (Huxley, 1932) was used to study the growth patterns of carcass tissues
within wholesalecuts. In general, The growths of muscle and fat within
wholesale cuts followed similar patterns. Somedifferences in growth patterns
between muscle and fat were identified on the dorsal region. The growth
impetusfor fat moved from the thoracic backwards to the lumbar region which was
the reverse of the growth impetus formuscle. Differential growth patterns
occurred between intermuscular (IM) fat and subcutaneous (SC) fat. WithIM fat,
its growth movement was similar to that of total fat where there was a
concentration of growth in thelumbar area and thin flank as side weight
increased. With SC fat, there were growth movements from the ventralregion to
the dorsal region of the carcass. Bone growth within wholesale cuts showed a
less clear pattern.
Author: R. Priyanto, E.R.
Johnson, D.G. Taylor
Journal Code: jppeternakangg090020
