Effects of temperature conditioning on postmortem changes in physico-chemical properties in Korean native cattle (Hanwoo)

The objective of this study was to examine the changes in physico-chemical properties that occur after adjusting postmortem chilling temperatures in Hanwoo beef. The right sides of beef carcasses were chilled for 4 h at 2 °C, 4 h at 12 °C and 16 h at 2 °C. The left sides were used as controls, chilled for 24 h at 2 °C. It took 8 h for the control carcasses to cool down to <10 °C and 10 h 20 min for the treatment. Adjusting the chilling temperature could be effective in lowering the postmortem pH and glycogen content. Treatment muscles at least 8 h postmortem had longer sarcomeres than the control (P < 0.05). The shear force in treatment carcasses at day 1 was similar to that of the control at day 6. Alternate chilling temperature had no detrimental effect on drip, cooking, total loss or color. Total numbers of aerobic plate counts were not significantly different between the control and treatment.