If you're worried about the quality of the meat you're serving to your family, Virginia Tech researchers say you're not alone.
In a study led by the school's School of Animal Sciences in collaboration with researchers at the University of S ? 'o Paulo in Brazil, 16 finished Angus-crossbred steerseach weighing 1,300 poundswere placed on one of two diets for 60 days.
At the end of that time, they were harvested and their beef was assessed using American Meat Science Association standards for color, weight, yield, and maturity.
The study, published this month in Translational Animal Science, found no significant differences in meat quality between the two diet groups.
"Our data show that beef quality is rather resilient," says lead author David Gerrard.
"Despite huge dietary changes, the intrinsic qualities of meatlike its color and textureremain unaffected," he adds.
"This suggests there's more flexibility in feeding strategies than previously thought.Producers can use this knowledge to better plan marketing decisions without jeopardizing losses in meat quality."
The finding is especially useful to cattle producers and feedlots during times of market unpredictability and processing slowdowns.
During the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures and lockdowns led many meat processors
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