Effect of Ranging Methods on Sarcomere Length and Palatability Varies between and within Muscles

Effect of Ranging Methods on Sarcomere Length and Palatability Varies between and within Muscles

Current study was conducted to investigate the effect of different hanging techniques (achilles tendon, aitch bone and pelvic ligament) on variations in sarcomere length and palatability within and between muscles using thirty-four Angus steer sides. Results showed that tenderstretch(by either suspension method) resulted in longer sarcomeres for most positions within the major leg muscle than did conventional hanging method, but in some minor muscles(eg., mm. gluteus profundus, gastronemius, and gracilis) tenderstetch allowed the muscles fibres to shorten. Some tenderstretched muscles(e.g., m. gluteus profundus, 1.5 μm) appeared not to toughen even at very low sarcomere lengths, while others toughened at higher sarcomere lengths. The current data demonstrated that the effect of tenderstretch on the length of sarcomeres and its influence on palatability varied between muscles, Overall the difference between the two tenderstretch methods was for the aitch method to produce meat that was 3.2 units more palatable than the ligament hanging method.