Nutritional and Processing Factors Affecting the Quality of Beef from Nigerian Cattle Breeds

This study examines the effects of pre-slaughter nutrition, slaughter management, and post-slaughter processing on the eating quality of beef from Nigerian indigenous cattle breeds, generating evidence for quality improvement in Nigeria's domestic beef value chain. Nigerian beef quality has received limited systematic research attention despite its importance for domestic food security and emerging opportunities in export markets. This study selects 48 steers of three indigenous breeds (Bunaji, Wadara, and Keteku) managed under three nutritional regimes: rangeland grazing only, rangeland with concentrate supplementation, and intensive feedlot finishing, at Vom and Shika research stations. Following slaughter under identical conditions, carcasses are assessed for dressing percentage, carcass weight, fat coverage, and pH decline patterns. Longissimus dorsi muscles are subjected to cooking loss, water holding capacity, shear force (Warner-Bratzler), proximate composition, fatty acid profile, and trained sensory panel assessment after 0, 7, and 14 days of ageing. Findings reveal that feedlot-finished cattle across all breeds produce significantly more tender beef (lower shear force) with better intramuscular fat distribution than rangeland-grazed equivalents. Fourteen-day ageing reduces shear force by 38 percent across all breeds and nutrition groups. Bunaji breed shows the best eating quality scores from trained panels despite lower absolute yield. Keteku shows the highest omega-3 fatty acid proportion in the fatty acid profile. The study contributes original beef quality data for three Nigerian breeds and recommends carcass ageing protocols and grading standards development for the Nigerian beef market.

Keywords: beef quality, indigenous cattle breeds, nutrition, ageing, Nigeria.