Difference between Bos indicus and Bos taurus and its influence on the meat quality

Abstract

The objective of this review is to show the difference between Bos indicus and Bos taurus and their consequences on the meat quality. The beef cattle in Brazil are one of the segments of meat that is more difficult to organize and overcome obstacles to their maintenance and expansion of the market. The opportunities for expansion of the beef market are closely linked to the competitiveness of the productive sector, thus, quality becomes a key point. The production of beef cattle in Brazil is based on the use of pure zebu or crossbred to obtain industrial crossings. The combination of characteristics such as predominance of zebu, whole animals raised on pasture and older age of slaughter, promotes the production of carcasses with little fat cover, brown meat and hard marbling absent or scarce. The softness is the main organoleptic characteristic to be considered and the most responsible for the acceptance by consumers. Among the factors that influence beef tenderness, are: genetics breed, slaughter age, sex, diet, use of hormonal agents and treatment post-mortem. As the participation of Bos indicus genotype increases in crosses with Bos taurus, calpastatin activity and shear force increase resulting in a tougher meat. One alternative that could be done, regardless of genetic group, would be the production of young animals in slaughtering conditions in order to obtain a more tender meat good low amount of collagen. The physiology of growth and physical and chemical processes that occur in the processing of tissue in meat can be very useful when it is aimed at producing a quality product.