Comparison of meat quality and health implications of branded and commodity beef

The primary objective was to compare the quality attributes of steaks from “naturally raised” branded beef programs (NAT) with steaks from commodity beef (CONV) with similar marbling specifications. Ribeye rolls were purchased from 5 branded programs with identical marketing claims (no dietary antibiotic or ionophore inclusion and no growth promotants) and 2 major beef packing companies and were wet-aged at 2°C for 14 d from the box date. After wet aging, ribeye rolls were removed from vacuum packaging and pH of the LM was measured before steaks were cut for fresh instrumental color, fatty acid analysis, antibiotic residue testing, Warner-Bratzler shear-force determination, and consumer sensory evaluation. The LM pH did not differ (P = 0.072) between CONV and NAT ribeye rolls, but CONV LM had lesser (P = 0.014) L* values than NAT LM. Although CONV LM had greater (P = 0.019) proportions of 18:1 trans fatty acids than NAT LM, concentrations of SFA (P = 0.799), monounsaturated fatty acids (P = 0.724), and PUFA (P = 0.420) were not different between CONV and NAT. Penicillin G residues were detected in 2 NAT steaks, but no antibiotic residues were detected in the CONV LM steaks. Neither Warner-Bratzler shear-force values nor consumer panelists’ sensory ratings differed (P ≥ 0.166) between CONV and NAT. There was little to no difference in fresh beef color, fatty acid composition, or cooked beef palatability between steaks from CONV and NAT, especially when cattle were fed high-concentrate finishing diets.