Influence of beef carcass stretching and chilling rate on tenderness of m. longissimus dorsi

Sides of 31 non-stimulated carcasses of young bulls were subjected to the muscle stretching methods Tenderstretch (TS) by pelvic bone suspension or Tendercut (TC) with two skeletal cuts or served as controls by traditional Achilles tendon suspension. The sides were chilled at fast and medium rates, resulting in temperatures of 4–5 and 9°C in the m. longissimus dorsi (LD) at 10 h post mortem. The LDs were examined for sarcomere length, Warner–Bratzler peak shear force and sensory properties after 8 days of ageing at 4°C. At the fast chilling rate, TS and TC increased sarcomere lengths, reduced shear force and improved sensory tenderness of the LDs compared to the controls ( P