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Session: Food Science and Nutrition (Oral 24)

(OR24-04-24) Effect of Finishing Practices on Fatty Acids Profiles of Beef From North American Commercial Operations: A Nation-Wide Profiling Study

Monday, July 1, 2024
2:36 PM – 2:48 PM CT
Location:  W183
ELPC
Objectives: This study aims to compare the fatty acid profiles of grass-finished beef (GFB) and grain-finished beef (GrFB) from commercial operations across North America with diverse grazing and finishing practices. It seeks to understand how these practices influence the presence of twenty-eight common fatty acids found in beef, and their relationship to management practices.

Methods: Comprehensive fatty acid profiling using gas chromatography (GC) after fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) preparation was performed on 258 GFB and 88 GrFB samples. Farm practices were documented through standardized surveys (SurveyStack) covering animal management, finishing practices, feed composition, and pasture characteristics. One-way ANOVA compared fatty acid composition between GFB and GrFB, while two-way ANOVA assessed the effects of grazing system and forage type. Tukey's HSD test facilitated post-hoc comparisons. This analysis quantified variations in the fatty acid composition (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated) of beef as markers of quality.

Results: Overall, GFB was found to have an omega 6:3 ratio of 2.0 ± 1.63 (mean ± SD) compared to 8.0 ± 3.87 in GrFB; however considerable variation was found amongst both systems (GFB: range: 0.62-11.45 and GrFB range: 1.72-18.81). Lower omega 6:3 ratios in GFB were driven by the presence of higher levels of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DPA) which were 266.67%, 200%, and 150% higher in the GFB compared to the GrFB samples, respectively. We also found that higher levels of plant diversity correlated with a lower omega 6:3 ratio (r2 = -0.35 and p = 0.0016).

Conclusions: GFB exhibits a significantly higher concentration of omega-3 fatty acids compared to GrFB. The data supports a positive correlation between pasture diversity and omega-3 levels in beef. These findings reinforce potential nutritional benefits of GFB consumption and highlight a potential need for label authentication in GFB given the large variations in omega 6:3 ratios.

Funding Sources: USDA-NIFA-2020-38640-31521 and the Bionutrient Institute