Predicting Longissimusdorsi myoglobin oxidation in aged beef based on early post-mortem colour measurements on the carcass as a colour stability index

Sixty young bulls of the Pirenaica breed, representative of the beef production and marketing system in northern Spain, were used. The carcass grading and weight, pH at 24 h post-mortem, and objective colour measurements (CIE L∗a∗b∗) were recorded on the Latissimus dorsi, Rectus abdominis and Longissimus dorsi in order to find indicators and predictors of beef colour stability (Longissimus dorsi metmyoglobin percentage on ageing for 3, 7 and 14 days) by means of early post-mortem measurements on the carcass.Neither the conformation nor the degree of fattening, under the current EU beef carcass classification system, displayed any statistically significant relationship with colour stability of beef aged 3, 7 and 14 days. However, there was a relationship between the instrumental colour measured on the carcass and the colour stability of the beef. This relationship allowed prediction of colour stability (Longissimus dorsi MMb percentage) after 3, 7 and 14 days of ageing and 48 h blooming using colour coordinates measured on the carcass.