The characteristics of beef produced from bulls of the Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy breed with different carcass fatty tissue coverage

The composition of cattle carcasses is important for their producers and processors. Their commercial value is related to the composition of tissues (the ratio of muscle, fat and bone). In Ukraine, a significant share of beef comes from dairy breeds. Ukraine's accession to the European Community requires that national standards for evaluating cattle carcasses be in line with international standards. The article presents the results of studies of the qualitative traits of beef of 18-24-month-old bulls of the Ukrainian black-and-white dairy breed with different development of the carcass cover with adipose tissue. The animals were slaughtered in the slaughterhouse of Kalynivka village, Brovary district, Kyiv region. After slaughtering the bulls, the conformation of the carcasses and their fat coverage were determined according to the EUROP method (2008). According to the JMGA (2000) classification, the color of muscle and adipose tissue was assessed using a scale from 1 to 7 points, and the marbling of m. longissimus dorsi between the 12th and 13th rib was assessed on a scale from 1 to 12 points. It was found that with the improvement of the development of fatty tissue on the carcass, their conformation (meatiness) statistically significantly improved by 37,9% (P>0,99), the thickness of subcutaneous fat by 1,5 times (P>0,95), the content of second-grade muscle tissue by 13.9% (P>0,95), the amount of higher-grade muscle tissue by 2,7 points (P>0,95) and the area of the “muscle eye” by 23,2% (P>0,95) deteriorate. With an increase in the development of subcutaneous fat on the carcass, there is a tendency to: saturation of colour of subcutaneous adipose tissue by 2.7%, tendons and ligaments by 0,2 points and the strength of the broth from boiled meat by 8,7%; a decrease in the live weight of animals after hungry aging by 2,7%, slaughter yield (carcass) by 0,9 points, adipose tissue in the carcass by 1.3 points, and the content of first grade muscle tissue by 0,5 points; deterioration of meat marbling by 27,7% and water retention by 5,3 points, and meat shelf life by 0,5 points; decrease in total moisture content by 2,1 points and total ash mass by 0,3 points, and the main components of beef sensory evaluation - tenderness by 6,7% and juiciness by 3,0%. The practical importance of the data is to obtain knowledge about the dependence of some signs of slaughter, morphological composition, physical, technological and sensory properties of beef obtained from 18-24-month-old bulls of the Ukrainian Black and-White dairy breed with different development of adipose tissue under the skin. Key words: subcutaneous adipose tissue, beef, marbling, carcass coverage with adipose tissue, sensory characteristics of cooked meat, chemical composition of meat.