National beef tenderness survey – 2006: Assessment of Warner–Bratzler shear and sensory panel ratings for beef from US retail and foodservice establishments

Beef from retail and foodservice establishments in 11 US cities was evaluated using Warner–Bratzler shear (WBS) and consumer evaluation panels. Postmortem aging times ranged from 3 to 83 d for retail and 7 to 136 d for foodservice with mean aging times of 22.6 d and 30.1 d, respectively. For retail, the three cuts from the round – top round, bottom round, and eye of round – had the highest (P < 0.05) WBS values compared to cuts from the chuck, rib, and loin. Top loin steaks had the lowest (P < 0.05) WBS value compared to ribeye and top sirloin foodservice steaks. Retail bone-in top loin, top loin, ribeye, T-bone, and porterhouse received the highest (P < 0.05) ratings by consumers for overall like and like tenderness. Quality grade had little or no effect on foodservice sensory evaluations. Improvements in round tenderness are needed to increase consumer acceptability.