This week we share our microphone with Dr. Colle to discuss the effect of extended aging times of beef subprimals on tenderness and other quality attributes. To optimize tenderness, the meat industry utilizes aging as a practice to ensure a good eating experience, but in some cases, there are certain beef cuts that undergo more than 21 days of aging.

Dr. Colle studies the impact of long aging times and how these times affect color stability of beef cuts when displayed at the retail level. Finding a nice balance between tenderness and color shelf-life attributes is key to get a tender product and also preventing retailers to mark prices down due to oxidation.

Today you will learn about:

1. The importance of aging

2. Tenderness and color-life

3. Benchmarks in meat industry

4. Shelf-life

5. The role of calpains

6. Inexpensive means to optimize color