Meat Quality of Nellore Young Bulls—Effects of Different Days on Feed and Zilpaterol Hydrochloride Supplementation

Abstract

Ninety-six Nellore young bulls were fed (90 or 117 day) diets containing ZH (8.33 mg/kg) for 0, 20, 30, or 40 days to evaluate the effects of days on feed (DOF) and length of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) supplementation on meat quality. At the end of feeding period, animals were slaughtered, and samples of the Longissimus muscle were collected to evaluate the chemical composition, fatty acid profile, color stability, shear force, and sensory profile. DOF did not affect chemical composition, shear force, sensory tenderness, and most of fatty acids; however, animals fed for 90 d had lower redness (p p p = 0.03) than those fed for 117 d. The ZH supplementation decreased lipid content and redness (p p p p p p < 0.05). Feeding ZH impairs meat quality attributes of Nellore young bulls, regardless of duration of supplementation, while DOF has a small effect on meat quality properties.

Keywords

• beta-agonist
• Bos indicus
• fatty acid profile
• meat quality
• sensory panel