Effect of feeding various dried distillers grains plus solubles on beef meat quality

Two studies were designed to investigate the effect of feeding crossbred beef steers a standard barley-based control diet or substituting wheat, corn, or wheat/corn (40% dry matter basis) dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on the resulting meat quality. The first study investigated the effect of diet on the quality of the longissimus muscle. It was observed that diet did not have an effect on meat composition, pH, drip loss or shear values; however, diet did have an effect on colour attributes, with steaks obtained from steers fed a DDGS diet losing redness faster over time and having a less desirable retail appearance than steaks obtained from steers fed the control diet (P<0.001). Differences (P<0.05) were also observed in both the subcutaneous and intramuscular fatty acid profiles, with steers fed corn DDGS having elevated levels of trans-monounsaturated fatty acids, and steers fed a DDGS diet having elevated levels of branched-chain fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid. The fatty acid composition of cattle fed a DDGS diet also had higher (P