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 Meat aging is defined as the storing of fresh meat at refrigerated temperatures

MEAT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY to allow the natural enzymatic actions on muscles to improve the tenderness
 Ageing is the process during which microbes and enzymes act upon the meat to
Meat Aging: Types, Aging Condition, Factors help breakdown the connective tissue and muscle protiens to tenderise the
meat.
Affecting Aging, Change In Meat During Aging  There are two ways ageing can be accomplished:
◼ Wet ageing by placing beef in a plastic bag under vacuum
◼ Dry ageing by storing beef in a temperature and humidity controlled
PROF. DR. M. TARIQ JAVED environment.
 The main difference is that wet ageing results in little or no moisture loss,
Department of Pathology whereas dry ageing can result in up to 50% moisture loss. Product labelling
Faculty of Veterinary Science should indicate the ageing processes used.
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

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 Dry ageing storage conditions:  Wet (Traditional) Aging

◼ Temperature: between - 0.5°C to 1°C (2°C to 3°C may be used when only
◼ a general storage process that occurs after a carcass is broken down or
ageing for up to 3 weeks)
boned.
◼ Relative Humidity: between 75% to 85%
◼ The meat is aged in a vacuum-sealed bag to retain its moisture.
◼ Air velocity: between 0.2 to 0.5 m/s
◼ The vacuum-packed beef is stored at a temperature of 0 to 7.2 °C
 Wet ageing storage conditions:
◼ Endogenous proteolytic enzymes weaken the structural myofibrillar proteins
◼ Storage below 5°C in the meat.
◼ Validation testing that any mould is Thamnidium ◼ This takes 10 to 14 days and results in a more tender meat.
◼ Shelf life testing for Entereobacteriaceae and E.coli at the end of the ageing ◼ Meat is aged in its own blood and serum therefore growth of Lactobacilli can
period result in a sour and subtle flavour compared to dry aged meat.
◼ Frozen or thawed meat must not be aged because the desired enzymatic
action will not occur and mould growth will not be initiated on the surface of
the meat.

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 Dry Aging ◼ Dry aged beef has an intense flavour when compared to wet aged meat that
can have a sour blood/serum flavour.
◼ Dry ageing involves the degradation of connective tissue and muscle protein
◼ The predominant bacteria on dry aged meat are the Pseudomonas that grow
structure of the meat of carcasses or cuts of meat and must be managed to
in the presence of oxygen.
ensure growth of beneficial and non-harmful moulds.
◼ In wet aged packaged meat Lactobacilli bacteria grow in the absence of
◼ Best practice is to reduce carcasses to smaller primals and sub-primals in
oxygen.
preparation for the ageing process.
◼ The Lactobacilli bacteria convert lactose to lactic acid therefore wet aged
◼ The most popular cuts used for ageing are strip loin, rib eye and sirloin that
product may have a slightly sour taste or odour when compared to the
can be aged in dedicated refrigeration units or rooms.
Pseudomonas that do not produce any sour flavours on dry aged meat.
◼ For dry aged meat, the fat cap is often left on the meat to help with flavour
◼ Dry aged beef is commonly found in some of the finest restaurants and
development, retention of moisture and reduction of trim loss when the
butcher shops.
crust is eventually trimmed off.

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◼ Premium dry aged beef products usually come from grain fed cattle due to
the greater marbling within the meat.
◼ Extremely lean meat will spoil if aged.
◼ The flavour of dry aged beef can range from buttery to nutty and almost
gamey depending on the age and storage conditions.
◼ The flavour is also dependent on other factors such as the quality of the
meat cut, whether it is grass fed or grain fed, storage temperature and
relative humidity during ageing.
◼ Premium products can be dry aged for up to 6 weeks provided the process
meets the requirements of these guidelines.
◼ It may be difficult to maintain the wholesome of meat after 8 weeks of dry
ageing.
◼ Endogenous proteolytic enzymes from the meat itself as well as from the
specific beneficial moulds weaken the structural myofibrillar proteins in the
meat.
◼ This takes 10 to 14 days and results in a more tender meat.
◼ At this stage the meat flavour can usually be described as buttery and
smooth.
◼ Loss of water from the meat by evaporation causes concentration of the
remaining proteins and increases flavour intensity to a nutty almost gamey
taste (smell tends to be more earthy like of liver).
◼ Final water loss can be up to 50 per cent and depends on the relative
humidity used during drying.

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◼ A storage temperature between -0.5°C to 1°C should be used.
◼ A temperature of between 2°C to 3°C may be used when the meat is only
aged for 2 to 3 weeks.
◼ Frozen or thawed meat must not be aged because the desired enzymatic
action will not occur and mould growth will not be initiated on the surface of
the meat.
◼ Control of Relative Humidity (RH) is important because it restricts growth of
pathogenic bacteria by drying the meat surface resulting in the formation of
a crust.
◼ RH also reduces bacterial growth on the surface in preparation for growth of
the desirable Thamnidium mould.
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◼ Dry aged meat must be segregated from all other meat products.
◼ Dry ageing must not be conducted in chillers where other fresh meat is
stored.
◼ Purpose built rooms and cabinets must be used for the dry ageing of meat.
◼ Trimming and preparation of product for packaging and sale must be
segregated from areas used for fresh meat.
◼ Dry aged meat products must not be displayed in retail display cabinets with
other fresh meat.
◼ Designated cabinets and/or chillers must be used
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◼ A RH of between 75% to 85% is recommended.
◼ Lower RH may be used but tends to dry out the meat and contribute to
higher trim losses in the final product.
◼ Higher RH should not be used because it will result in spoilage of the meat
before ageing is complete.
◼ To prevent spoilage, portions of meat must be adequately separated from
each other to allow efficient and controlled air flow between each portion.
◼ The desirable air velocity is 0.2 to 0.5 m/s and can be controlled with a
properly designed refrigeration unit and fans.
◼ The air velocity and flow should be kept uniform for the duration of the
drying process and is most critical at the start of the dry ageing process.
◼ A more sophisticated approach to manage the dry ageing process is to install
UV lighting entirely and leaving no other light source.
◼ Air can also be circulated through UV lit chambers
◼ The use of antibacterial rinses for the preparation of meat for dry ageing has
some inherent risks and must be validated and approved.
◼ Dry ageing involves restricting bacterial growth and encouraging the growth
of beneficial mould.
◼ During the dry ageing process, mould from the Thamnidium, Penicillium,
Rhizopus and Mucor genera can be found on the surface of the meat.
◼ The most desirable is the Thamnidium mould as it has been shown to
releases proteases that tenderise ageing meat.
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◼ Other mould species have been associated with infections in humans and
production of harmful natural toxicants.
◼ They also do not provide any favourable characteristics for ageing of meat.
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 Post-slaughter aging of red meat is the time-honored practice of
naturally improving palatability
 Tenderness is improved when proteases or enzymes break-apart the
muscle fibers and reverse the effects of rigor mortis on the carcass
 These effects occur largely during the first 3–7 days after slaughter
 Among sensory traits of meat, tenderness and flavor are linked with
quality of meat
 Aging process is traditionally used to increase tenderness and flavor
and involves holding a carcass for up to 14 days under refrigeration
◼ All studies limit the time of ageing to a maximum of 30 days
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◼ Dry-aging can be done at home by three means:
 open air, with the presence of salt blocks
 By the use of a moisture permeable drybag to protect
the meat while it is aging
 dry-aging by coating a cut of beef with ground koji
(rice inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae) to simulate
the effect of traditional dry-aging; the results are not
quite the same, but can be achieved within 48 to 72
hours
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 Ageing is a result of the proteolysis of myofibrillar proteins, which is
mediated in part by calpains
 The amount of connective tissue in a muscle has an effect on the
tenderness of the meat.
 The major component of connective tissue, collagen, has a tough,
rigid structure.
 However, even though muscles from younger animals have more
connective tissue, the meat derived from those muscles is generally
more tender than that from older animals.
 This is due to the fact that collagen is broken down and denatured
during the aging forming a gelatin-like substance that makes the
meat more tender
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 Collagen becomes more rigid with age of animal, resulting in greater
toughness of meat from older animals.
 The aging can vary depending on variation in inter-muscular
components like fat and moisture content, shape, sarcomere length,
fibre type and connective tissue
 Tenderness due to proteolysis is less in muscles that shorten less
during rigor
 Early tenderization is likely to result from ‘‘resolution’’ or breakdown
of the rigor linkages of the actomyosin proteins by enzymatic
proteolysis
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 Sodium and calcium are released by the meat proteins
and potassium is absorbed after slaughter aging
 Total cationic shift is movement of ions into the meat
proteins.
 This is due to that the large amount of potassium ions are
taken up in relation to the amount of sodium and calcium
released.
 The result of this movement of ions was that the muscle
proteins became more positively charged.
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 Calcium-activated protease (Calpain) is an enzyme located in the
cytosol
◼ It slowly disrupts Z lines by releasing alpha actinin, a protein that
holds the thin filaments into the Z line.
◼ Also there are other enzymes inside the muscle fibre which might
be involved in the conditioning effect.
◼ Cathepsin occur in lysosomes and parts of the sarcoplasmic
reticulum
◼ Acid phosphatase is another enzyme present inside muscle
fibres
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 calcium is also thought to be responsible to some extent for
the increase of hydration of the actomyosin complex.
 The entire effect result in an increased charge on the meat
proteins allowing greater hydration and improved
tenderness
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 Following a period of tenderization, muscles begin to

◼ The loss of moisture causes collapse of the myofibrillar
toughen again during extended ageing
structure
◼ One possibility is the loss of moisture over time,
◼ The loss of sarcoplasmic enzymes such as the calpains as
◼ Moisture levels within the meat may play an important part of the drip, may also play a role in the changes in
role in mediating the contribution of connective tissue to tenderness over time
toughness
◼ It is known that muscles with a high connective tissue
content are generally tougher
◼ The water holding capacity of the meat decreases over
time due to the denaturation of the myofibrillar proteins

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 The two alterations in post-slaughter  It is interesting to note that loss of Z-line

myofibrils that are primary contributors structure in bovine muscle requires
to the resolution of rigor mortis are: several days if the muscle is stored at
◼ Z-line structure, weakening and temperatures of 2 or 16°C, it occur
eventual rupture of the bonds within 8-24 hrs after slaughter if the
between the I and Z filaments muscle is stored at 25 or 37 °C
◼ Weakening of the actin-myosin  Z-line degradation may be related to the
interaction, by limited proteolysis of tenderness
myosin, actin and/or one of the
regulatory proteins.

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 Flavor
◼ Appropriate beef flavour decreases and off flavour intensity
increases over time.
◼ Beef flavor results from the combination of basic tastes and
odour derived from volatile compounds
◼ As meat ages, off-flavor attributes (such as bitter, bloody or liver-
like aroma) increase, while desirable flavours (such as beefy or
brothy) decrease
◼ These changes are partly due to an increased availability of free
amino acids, dipeptides and lipid oxidation products

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◼ Beef flavour intensity scores were higher when the

muscles were aged at a lower temperature (18 °C),
◼ The muscles showed an increase in off flavour intensity
(sour, lactate flavours) at higher storage temperature (58 Meat Testing
°C), which may relate to bacterial growth
Flow Diagram
◼ Rancidity is brought about by the action of oxygen
(oxidative rancidity)

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