Estimates of heritability of meat quality traits in Piemontese cattle

he study aimed to investigate variation and to estimate heritability of meat quality traits of Piemontese young bulls. A total of 988 young bulls, offspring of 127 AI sires, were sampled from 153 fattening farms. Animals were slaughtered in different days at the same commercial abattoir. Carcass were weighed and scored for fleshiness using the European grading system. Bulls were 536 ± 73 d old and average carcass weight was 425 ± 42 kg. Individual samples of Longissimus Dorsi were collected 24 h after slaughter and held refrigerated at 4 °C for 8 d. Measured traits were pH, meat colour (L, a, b, hue and chroma), shear force, drip and cooking loss. Meat colour, pH and shear force were measured repeatedly. Three measures of pH were taken at collection of muscle samples. Colour, pH and shear force were measured five times on samples after ageing. Pedigree information was provided by the Italian Association of Piemontese Cattle. Estimation of variance components was based on a linear animal model and was accomplished using Bayesian methodology and the Gibbs sampler. Results are presented.