Muscle fibre types and beef quality

Abstract

The quality of bovine meat is related to the composition of the source muscles. Bovine skeletal muscle is mainly composed of three types of muscle fibres that are found in varying proportions in different muscles. The proportion of these different fibre types varies with biological and environmental factors (breed, age, sex, rearing conditions), resulting in variability of carcass and meat qualities. This study focuses on the factors of variation in carcass and muscle composition and on the relationship between muscle fibre type composition and overall meat quality.