Exploring The Impact of Advanced Meat Recovery Beef Inclusion on Ground Beef Quality

Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) is a USDA-approved method for recovering residual edible tissue from beef bones following deboning. However, no recent work has evaluated product quality across varying AMR inclusion levels. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of increasing AMR inclusion on ground beef quality. Ten batches of 6 treatments: Fed (fed trim), 0% AMR (nonfed trim), and 4 AMR treatments (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% in nonfed trim) were formulated to a targeted lean:fat (81:19) ratio (N = 60). Treatments were ground, formed into patties, and displayed for 0, 4, or 7 days. Patties were analyzed for proximate analysis, collagen, iron, and calcium content, aerobic plate count (APC), pH, lipid oxidation, instrumental and cooked color/yield, texture profile analysis (TPA), and trained sensory analysis. Calcium, iron, pH, and APC increased with AMR incorporation relative to the 0% AMR control (P < 0.05), whereas collagen content did not differ (P > 0.05). There was a noted increase in lipid oxidation for the 10% AMR patties after 7 days of retail display (P < 0.05). Generally, AMR patties had lower a* and b* values than 0% AMR patties (P < 0.05); however, discoloration and L* were unaffected by AMR inclusion (P > 0.05). Exterior cooked b* and internal cooked L* decreased (P < 0.05) with high levels of AMR inclusion (P < 0.05). TPA showed AMR patties were softer and less chewy than controls when cooked to an internal temperature of 71°C (P < 0.05). However, sensory analysis indicated AMR patties were less juicy and chewier, but with reduced connective tissue, when cooked to an internal temperature of 74°C (P < 0.05). Overall, AMR inclusion up to 20% produced only minor quality changes, supporting the potential inclusion of AMR in fresh ground beef production.