Influence of 21 days of vacuum-aging on color, bloom development, and WBSF of beef semimembranosus

Changes of color, proportions of myoglobin forms, pH, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) of beef m. semimembranosus (SM) were examined during 21 days of vacuum-aging. Significant changes in lightness, redness, yellowness, chroma, and hue angle (p <= 0.05) of SM during aging were found. Proportions of myoglobin forms changed on the 7th day of aging. Aging decreased WBSF in general, but a significant decrease (p 0.05) from 67.86 N to 55.3 N was observed after day 14 of aging. The color parameters (L*, a*, C, Delta E) and O(2)Mb in 21-day aged SM were stabilized faster during blooming. Beef SM that had faster stabilization of bright red color during blooming were more tender (correlation of O2Mb with WBSF r = -0.87; p <= 0.001). This could be important information for the producers, since the best quality traits could be achieved after sufficient blooming and aging time. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.