Effects of feeding a single or sequence of beta-adrenergic agonists on cull cow meat quality

Sixty cull cows were implanted and assigned to four treatments: C = concentrate ration only; RH = supplemented with ractopmaine-HCl (8.33 mg/kg of feed) for 25 d; ZH = supplemented with zilpaterol-HCl (ZH) (200 mg head – 1d– 1) for the last 20 d; and RH + ZH = supplemented with RH for 25 d followed by ZH for 20 d. All cows were fed a concentrate ration for 74 d. Infraspinatus steaks from cows supplemented with RH and/or ZH had lower (P < 0.05) shear force than steaks from C cows. Longissimus (LM) steaks from the 6–8th rib section of ZH and RH + ZH cows had decreased (P < 0.0001) desmin degradation at 10 and 21 d postmortem compared to steaks from C and RH cows. Collagen solubility of the LM was increased (P < 0.05) by ZH and RH + ZH compared to C. There were no treatment differences in 12th rib LM tenderness when enhanced with calcium lactate. Color and sensory traits of meat from RH + ZH cows were not different from C but flavor intensity was greater and off-flavor less than for C cows.