Meat quality and lipid composition of loin and topside from dairy-beef crossbred yearling calves and 2-year-old steers Introduction Results and Discussion • Livestock farming is challenged with finding alternative production systems due to the current impacts on animal welfare, the environment and climate change. • Producing veal from surplus dairy calves within 10 days of birth leads to animal welfare concern and compromises the social licence to operate. • Alternative farming systems are being considered in New Zealand by producing meat from crossbred surplus dairy calves finished on pasture at 8-12 months of age [1]. • It remained unclear the differences in quality and lipid composition of meat produced from dairy-beef crossbred yearling calves finished on pasture compared to commercial beef. Aim Evaluate the meat quality and lipid composition of loin and topside from dairy-beef crossbred yearling calves compared to 2-year-old steers. Methodology • Striploin and topside were obtained from yearling calves (n=12) and 2-year-old steers (n=12) of dairy-beef crossbred cattle finished on pasture. Meat samples were wet-aged at -1.5°C for 21 days (23 days post-mortem) and subsamples were taken for determining meat quality and nutritional compositions as shown in Fig 1. • Total fatty acids, %IMF and %MUFA were lower (P<0.05), while % PUFA, n-6 and n-3 PUFA were higher (P<0.05) in yearling calves. • Both meat types had healthy n-6:n-3 ratios (≤4.0) while higher values were observed in topside from 2-year-old steers than yearling calves. • The levels of vitamin A and β-carotene were lower (P<0.05) in meat from yearling than 2-year-old cattle. Conclusion • Beef from yearling calves and 2-year-old cattle differed in colour properties with similar cook loss and tenderness. • Producing beef from yearling calves can provide high-quality meat to meet the growing demand for lean meat products, while contributing to mitigate issues related to animal welfare and the environmental impact of meat production. Fig 1. A schematic illustration of meat samples and experimental design of this study. REFERENCES [1] Hunt, J. J., 2019, New Zealand Journal of Animal Science and Production 79: 153-155. . [2] Agnew, M.P., 2019, Metabolites 9(9): 189. [3] Nimalaratne, C., et al. 2014, Food Research International 66: 69-77. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by AgResearch Strategic Science Investment Fund, SSIF-A27235 (Consumer Experience: pathways to premium foods). Renyu Zhang Romera, A., Deb- choudhury, S. Jacob, N., Alfante, R., Agnew, M., Farouk, M. M., & Realini, C. E* AgResearch Ltd, New Zealand *Carolina.Realini@agresearch.co.nz Table 1 Meat quality traits, fat-soluble vitamins (mg/g meat), intramuscular fat (IMF) and fatty acid profile (g/100 g meat) of loin and topside from yearling and 2-year-old beef. • Meat pH values were measured using a portable pH probe and in- strumental colour (CIE L*, a* and b*) was measured at three ran- dom positions of steaks using a Minolta Chroma Meter (CR-400). • Shear force (N) of cooked steaks (core temperature of 75°C) was measured by shearing perpendicular to the fibre axis direction of cross sections (10 mm×10 mm) using a Warner-Bratzler blade. • Intramuscular fat (IMF) content and fatty acids (FA) profile of sam- ples were analysed by a direct trans-methylation method [2]. • Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A and E, Lutein, β-carotene) were de- termined based on the method by Nimalaratne et al. [3]. • Data were analysed using R software and “lme4” and “predictmeans” packages. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s honest significant difference were used to separate the means at P<0.05. IMF = intramuscular fat. SFA = saturated fatty acids = C10:0 + C12:0 + C14:0 + C15:0 + C16:0 + C17:0 + C18:0 + C20:0 + C24:0. BCFA = branched chain fatty acids = Iso-C15:0 + Anteiso-C15:0 + Iso-C16:0 + Iso-C17:0 + Anteiso-C17:0. MUFA = monounsaturated fatty acids = C14:1 + C16:1 + C17:1 + C18:1 trans-9 + C18:1 trans-11 + C18:1 cis-9 + C18:1