Effect of pre rigor stretching on beef tenderness development

► Pre rigor stretching by SmartStretch™/SmartShape™ (4S) was applied to beef loins. ► Stretching increased the length of loins by 33%, but did not impact sarcomere.. ► 4S did not affect for shear force, water-holding capacity and proteolysis of loins. ► Pre rigor stretching with the current length increase did not affect tenderness.