Nutrient Density of Beef From Longhorn Cattle
Preliminary Research Report #2

Here are the results of the Nutrient Density of Beef From Longhorn Cattle project:

In an earlier report I presented the results of the evaluation of the carcass grade and yield of the cattle in the 1986-1987 Texas A&M University study, entitled “Nutrient Density of Beef from Longhorn Cattle” (supported in part by TLBAA). This study included steers of three different breedings, and each breed-group was further divided into two feeding groups (good and choice grades). These groups are shown in Table 1.

The results of the portion of the study demonstrated the very desirable carcass characteristics of the Texas Longhorn and Texas Longhorn cross steers.

In this report, I will report on the two final parts of this study:

  1. Eating qualities of the meat.
  2. Composition of meat.

This and the earlier report are preliminary, and a more comprehensive report is forthcoming from Texas A&M in which a thorough statistical analysis will be done on all of the data.

EATING QUALITIES OF TEXAS LONGHORN BEEF

To appreciate the importance of the new findings from the present Texas A&M study, I think it is important to compare these results with earlier studies on eating qualities of Texas Longhorn beef, and to this we need to settle on acceptable scoring procedures. These are shown in Table 2.

Earlier studies on the comparative ‘eating qualities” of Texas Longhorn beef are summarized in Table 3 and 4.

Table 5 shows the taste panels evaluation of the beef for eating qualities in the most recent study.

All of these studies have shown the comparative high scores for eating qualities of Texas Longhorn and Texas Longhorn-cross beef. There should be no hesitation for breeders, packers, and retailers to promote the excellent eating quality of Texas Longhorn beef. This data coupled with the excellent carcass quality and yield characteristics from the Texas Longhorn carcasses should be good news for breeders and ultimately for beef consumers. The bottom line: Texas Longhorns produce a high quality delicious beef.

BEEF COMPOSITION

First, I think it is important to recognize that the recent study by Texas A&M on the composition of beef from Hereford, Longhorn x Hereford crosses and Texas Longhorns (see Table 1) in which thc total feeding regime was under the researchers control is no doubt the most current and most comprehensive study of its kind. This study will no doubt become a standard to follow for all future studies in this area, The high quality of this study is important to all of us in the livestock industry. It means that we can have confidence in the reliability of data and can use it with confidence in our decision making and marketing.

This preliminary report on the beef composition will focus on three major areas; fat content, cholesterol composition. and fat composition.

The public’s concern with fat and cholesterol composition in food is a major force in the market place. In general, the perception that beef has relatively high levels of both is said to be a major factor in consumers selection foods other than beef. Therefore, the relative and the absolute amounts of cholesterol and fat in the meats of these steers could have a major effect upon consumer's acceptance of beef in general, or that of Texas Longhorns specifically.

Table 1. Feeding groups of Texas Longhorns, Texas Longhorn x
	 Hereford Cross and Herefords.

Breeding	Total		Good		Choice
				Grade		Grade

Texas
Longhorns	25		Group 1 (13)	Group 2 (12)
Longhorn
Crosses		24		Group 3 (12)	Group 4 (12)
Herefords	12		Group 5 (6)	Group 6 (6)

TABLE 2. Scoring of Eating Qualities of Beef.

  JUICINESS	  		  TENDERNESS
8 Extremely Juicy		8 Extremely Tender
7 Very Juicy			7 Very Tender
6 Moderately Juicy		6 Moderately Tender
5 Slightly Juicy		5 Slightly Tender
4 Slightly Dry			4 Slightly Tough
3 Moderately Dry		3 Moderately Tough
2 VeryDry			2 Very Tough
1 Extremely Dry			1 Extremely Tough

  CONNECTIVE			  OFF FLAVOR
  TISSUE AMOUNTS		  CHARACTERISTICS
8 None				A Acid
7 Practically None		F Fish-like
6 Traces			L Liver-like
5 Slightly			M Metallic
4 Moderate			O Old (freezer burned)
3 Slightly Abundant		X Other
2 Moderately Abundant		U Rancid
1 Abundant
	
  OVERALL FLAVOR
8 Extremely Flavorsome		4 Slightly Unflavorsome
7 Very Flavorsome		3 Moderately Unflavorsome
6 Moderately Flavorsome		2 Very Unflavorsome
5 Slightly Flavorsome		1 Extremely Unflavorsome

Tables 6, 7, and 8 present the average data for composition of fat and cholesterol, percent of specific fatty acids and percent of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. There has been preliminary data from isolated studies on a few Texas Longhorn carcasses suggesting that their meat had lower cholesterol content than that of other breeds. This data is not, to my knowledge, in the literature. The results of the recent A&M study do not confirm these earlier findings. This does not mean that this or the other studies were in error, but rather, the different results are due to the different conditions of the studies. For example, in this study all of the steers’ diets were the same, the composition of their diets were well characterized, and the analysis of fat and cholesterol was done with new, highly reproducible and accurate techniques.

There was no difference shown between the amount of cholesterol (mg/lOOg) in the three breeds of steers’ longissimus muscle. However, all of the steers had cholesterol values above 10 mg/lOOg lower than what has been previously reported for beef. I think these results are very important for several reasons:

1.) This means that cholesterol in beef per se is not a major health (heart disease) issue. This does not mean that there should be (will be) no concern with the health implications of eating beef.

In looking at the health-implications of cholesterol in food, it is important to realize that the body does not absorb cholesterol directly from the gut and deposit it in the blood vessels. There are some very complex steps in which cholesterol in food is first broken down, and then depending upon lots of complex processes in the body, may be reconstructed and deposited in the blood vessels. In other words, consuming cholesterol in our food does not necessarily mean that we will get a proportional amount of cholesterol plaques in our blood vessels.

All human bodies do not handle cholesterol in the diet in the same way. We all benefit from some cholesterol, and the good news from this study is that beef does not provide the large amounts of dietary cholesterol.

2.) All of these animals were fed to a “predetermined, live grade.” While long periods of feeding may be the way to produce “choice-grade carcasses” from Hereford or other commercial breeds, it may not be necessary to feed Texas Longhorns for as long a period of time to produce high quality (choice grade) carcasses. One of the reasons that results from earlier studies on Texas Longhorns showed comparatively small amounts of cholesterol may be because they were not fed concentrate for as long a period of time as were the Texas Longhorn steers in this study. It would seem important for Texas Longhorn breeders to learn by research how best to feed their steers to maximize their quality and efficiency.

Of great importance is the fact that both groups of Texas Longhorns had much lower Low Density Fat (3.7%) than the crossed (about 5.7%) and the Herefords (about 5.4%). Not only does this mean that there are fewer calories from fat in Texas Longhorn beef, but that there will be much less potential for the human body to produce the building blocks for cholesterol plaques in the walls of blood vessels. Remember, cholesterol plaques can be built from breakdown products of dietary cholesterol and/or fat.

The fact that the Hereford-Longhorn crosses had higher fat suggested that the low-fat characteristic of Texas Longhorns might be a “recessive characteristic” which may be lost with cross breeding. It will be interesting to learn if the low fat characteristic is lost when Texas Longhorns are crossed with breeds of cattle other than Herefords.

It is important to emphasize that this low-fat meat came from Texas Longhorn carcasses with high quality-grade and high eating quality scores. In other words, the consumer can have it all with Texas Longhorn beef; high quality, high eating-quality scores and low fat.

The “quality of the fatty acids” which make up the fat in the Texas Longhorn beef is superior to that of the other cattle in the study. The Texas Longhorn has less saturated fatty acids (the least desirable type of fat in the diet) and more unsaturated (the more desirable dietary fatty acids, both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). This is similar from a health point of view as substituting margarine for butter or olive oil for lard in cooking. It is a very important new finding that a breed of cattle can produce such highly desirable fatty acids in their beef.

While the results of the 1986-1987 Texas A&M study are somewhat different than we might have expected based on earlier analysis for cholesterol on individual animals, in many ways the information from it is much more powerful for the Texas Longhorn breeder than expected.

In my view, knowing how truly unique the Texas Longhorn is in producing lean (low fat) high quality meat should be very good news for everyone from the breeder to the consumer. In addition to the lowfat message, there is the very important information on the low level of saturated fat and relatively higher percentage of unsaturated fat (fatty acids). This is again from carcasses with high yield, quality and eating qualities.

The very important bottom line is that Texas Longhorns produce a delicious, nutritious and very healthy beef superior to that from other cattle in this study.

TABLE 4. Reproduction of Table 6 from the studies of T. Holbert,
L. Schake, J. Savall, J. Brenni, J. Caldwell and W. McCoy,
entitled, “Feedlot performance and carcass characteristics of
Hereford and Texas Longhorn x Hereford steers.” Technical report
#81-1, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University.

				BREED TYPE

				Hereford (n= 20)   Texas Longhorn x
					   	   Hereford (n= 20)

ITEM

Juiciness a			5.5  ±  .60	   5.6	±  .61
Muscle fiber tenderness b	6.7  ±  .51	   6.7	±  .84
Connective tissue amount c	7.7  ±  .22	   7.7	±  .50
Overall tenderness b		6.8  ±  .47	   6.0	±  .77
Flavor desirabilityd*		6.2  ±  .44	   6.7	±  .37
Overall desirability d		6.3  ±  .46	   6.6	±  .70
Shear force value, lb.		6.2  ± 1.29	   6.0	± 1.41

a Based on 8 point scale: 8= extremely juicy, 1 = extremely dry.
b Based on 8 point scale: 8 = extremely tender, 1 = extremely tough.
c Based on 8 point scale: 8= none, 1 = abundant.
d Based on 8 point scale: 8 = desirable, 1 = extremely undesirable.
*(p < 05)

TABLE 5. Taste Panel Evaluation of the Beef for Eating
Qualities of Herefords, Longhorn-Hereford Crosses and
Texas Longhorns.
TABLE 2. TASTE PANEL EVALUATION - TEXAS LONGHORN PROJECT
Breed	Slaugh- Juici-	Muscle	  Connective  Overall   Overall Shear
	ter	ness    Fiber      Tissue    Tenderness  Flavor Force
		       Tenderness  Amount		        (lb.)
Hereford		
6	1	  4.9	   6.7	    6.8		6.6	 5.8	 6.6
6	2	  5.0	   6.4	    6.7		6.3	 5.5	 7.1
	X	  4.9	   6.5	    6.7		6.4	 5.7	 6.9
Longhorn-		
Hereford		
12	1	  5.0	   6.0	    6.5		6.0	 5.4	 8.2	
12	2	  5.4	   6.1	    6.5		5.9	 6.8	 8.7
	X	  5.2	   6.0	    6.5		6.0	 5.6	 8.4
Longhorn
13	1	  5.5	   5.9	    6.5		5.9	 5.9	 8.7
12	2	  5.6	   6.7	    7.1		6.7	 5.9	 7.2
	X	  5.5	   6.3	    6.8		6.3	 5.9	 8.0

TABLE 6. LONGISSIMUS MUSCLE FAT AND CHOLESTEROL CONTENT

Breed Group	Number	Slaughter	L.D. Fat, %	Cholesterol,
			Group				mg/100g
Hereford	6	1		5.7		60.3
		6	2		5.1		58.2
			x		5.4		59.2

Longhorn x	12	1		5.0		60.0
Hereford	12	2		6.4		60.4
			x		5.7		60.2

Longhorn	13	1		3.7		61.5
		12	2		3.7		61.5
			x		3.7		61.5


TABLE 8. CLASSES OF FATTY ACIDS IN LONGISSIMUS MUSCLE

Breed		Sl		Percent of Fatty Acids
Group		Group
			Saturated Monounsaturated Polyunsaturated

Hereford	1	48.21		41.80		11.47
		2	48.56		42.36		10.04
		X	48.89		42.08		10.76

Longhorn-	1	47.59		42.97		10.24
Hereford	2	48.27		45.89		07.19
		X	47.95		44.50		08.65

Longhorn	1	44.37		41.91		15.15	
		2	39.30		47.23		14.38
		X	41.93		44.47		14.78

Here are the results of the Nutrient Density of Beef From Longhorn Cattle project:

"Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America"

2315 N. Main Ste. 402, Fort Worth, TX 76106
PHONE (817) 625-6241 FAX (817) 625-1388
E-mail: tlbaa@tlbaa.org