Environmental effects on the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous beef fat

Abstract

This paper describes the effect of location and level of nutrition before finishing on the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous beef fat. Interactions between location and nutritional treatments, finishing regime and market category were also examined. The effect of level of nutrition on the fatty acid composition of beef fat during the period from weaning until feedlot entry was small but significant. The lowest level of nutrition had the highest percentage of C18:0 at slaughter, which was offset by reductions in C16:0 in cohort 93-1 and C18:1c9 in cohort 94-2. Location had a large effect on the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous beef fat. At a common slaughter weight, cattle grown in a tropical environment were older, fatter and had higher percentages of saturated fats, including C16:0 and C18:0, than cattle grown out in a temperate environment.