Effects of postmortem storage time on color and mitochondria in beef

• Decreased mitochondrial function during aging influences beef color.
• Decreased mitochondrial oxygen consumption will increase initial color intensity.
• The negative effects of aging on mitochondria will decrease beef color stability.

To assess the effects of aging time (0, 15, 30, and 45 d) and temperature (0 or 5 °C) on beef mitochondria and steak color, vacuum packaged longissimus (n = 15) and cardiac muscles were assigned to 1 of 6 temperature × time combinations. As time increased, initial red color intensity increased whereas both mitochondrial oxygen consumption and color stability decreased. The decrease in mitochondrial oxygen consumption associated with longer aging times will increase initial color intensity. However, this improvement in color development will be negated by the decreased color stability that results from the effects of storage on mitochondria.