Beef quality of young Angus × Nellore cattle supplemented with rumen-protected lipids during rearing and fatting periods

• Rumen-protected lipids during the fatting period affected the beef PUFA level.
• Protein–energy supplementation during the rearing period improves beef tenderness.
• The beef aging process improves beef tenderness but increases cooking losses.

This work evaluated the beef quality parameters of 108 bulls randomly administered to three treatments during rearing in pastures and two treatments during fatting in feedlots, including mineral and rumen-protected lipids. Meat and fat color, cooking yield, shear force, sensorial traits and chemical and fatty acid compositions were evaluated. Generally, the beef quality parameters were not affected by the rumen protected lipids; however, supplementation with rumen-protected lipids during the rearing period yielded darker beef and brighter fat and increased beef tenderness in meat aged for 28 days compared to the meat from animals that received only mineral supplementation. In addition, the percent of meat polyunsaturated fatty acids was negatively affected by the inclusion of protected lipids, yielding 5.58 and 3.72% in animals fed with and without rumen-protected lipids, respectively, during the fatting period.