Organic farming: effects of forage to concentrate ratio and ageing time on meat quality of Podolian young bulls

This study aimed to assess the effect of a different forage to concentrate ratio (60 to 40 (HC group) vs. 70 to 30 (LC group)) and ageing (15 vs. 21 days) on meat quality of Podolian young bulls, organically farmed. Longissimus dorsi was divided in two sections, aged in vacuum-packaging at 4 °C until 15 and 21 days postmortem, respectively. Meat chemical composition was unaffected by diet and ageing time. Colour parameters were not affected by diet, while red index a⁎ and chroma decreased from 15 to 21 days of ageing, and yellow index and hue angle were found higher (P < 0.001) at 21 than at 15 days postmortem. The meat from the LC group showed lower (P < 0.01) Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values than that from the HC group after 15 days of maturation. Extending ageing time from 15 to 21 days produced a significant (P < 0.001) reduction of WBSF. Diet effect on sensory tenderness was significant (P < 0.05) after 15 days of ageing with higher tenderness scores in the LC than in the HC group. Ageing positively affected sensory tenderness (P < 0.05) in the HC group. Flavour intensity was increased by the extension of the ageing period (P < 0.001), whereas no diet effect was evidenced on this parameter.