Sensory profiling of textural properties of meat from dairy cows exposed to a compensatory finishing strategy

A compensatory finishing strategy was evaluated to improve the quality of meat from dairy cows. The experiment included ten pairs of Holstein Friesian dairy cows. Each pair was the progeny of the same sire, in the same parity, and approximately at the same number of days in lactation before entering the experiment. Within each pair, one cow was allocated to a compensatory finishing strategy, dried off for 4 days, and further restricted in energy intake for another 17 days followed by 6 weeks of ad libitum feeding. The strategy improved the sensory texture and flavour of both M. longissimus dorsi (LD) and M. semimembranosus (SM). This was supported by lower shear force in both muscles (P < 0.02). The effect can be ascribed to various factors; in LD an increased amount of IMF plays a significant role, whereas in SM an increased protein turnover is suggested to be the dominating factor.