Some biochemical aspects pertaining to beef eating quality and consumer health: A review

The objective of the current review is to highlight biochemical processes and products, from slaughter to the time of beef consumption, that relate to response to stress at slaughter, meat quality and consumer health. Biochemical processes and products involved in the use of catecholamine and dopamine levels at slaughter, in predicting meat quality, are reviewed. Furthermore, meat quality characteristics, such as colour, pH, drip loss, sarcomere length (SL), water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking losses, myofibrillar fragmentation length (MFL), Warner Bratzler shear force (WBSF), fatty acid profiles and sensory characteristics, are reviewed. The review also covers how certain fatty acids relate to human health. At the end, relationships among different meat quality traits are considered. The review rounds off by identifying possible areas requiring further research.