Comparison of the Biobullet Versus Traditional Injection Techniques on Tissue Damage and Tenderness in Beef Subprimals

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of route of injection administration on lesion occurrence, tenderness, and collagen concentration in beef chucks and rounds. Steers (n=192) were blocked by BW and randomly allocated to treatment groups: BioBullet/Naxcel; needle/Naxcel; Biobullet/Titanium5; needle/Titanium5; needle-less/Vista5; a needle/ViraShield5; BioBullet/water; and needle/water. Chuck and round lesions were 83.9% clear scars. Warner-Bratzler Shear Force values of chuck lesion cores were tougher (P=0.07) than control tissue cores and at points 2.54 and 5.08cm from the core. BioBullet/Titanium5 cores were 0.74kg higher than lesion cores from chucks injected with BioBullet/H20 or Needle/Naxcel treatments. The BioBullet did not create greater incidence of lesions in the chuck or round, nor did more tissue damage than needle injections. BioBullet is not recommended in the round as it does not meet quality assurance guidelines. The BioBullet can effectively be used in prescapular applications without additional negative effects on tenderness.