CONSUMER ACCEPTABILITY AND BETA-CAROTENE CONTENT OF BEEF AS RELATED TO CATTLE FINISHING DIETS

Ribeye steaks (Longissimus muscle) and ground beef from 15 Angus or An gus x Hereford steers slaughtered at weights of 480-500 kg were evalua ted for proximate composition, color, beta-carotene content and consum er preference. Three groups of five animals were finished on annual ry egrass pasture (Lolium multiflorum), ryegrass and ''Coastal'' bermudag rass hay (Cynodon hybrid), or a feedlot diet. beta-carotene content of ribeye steaks and ground beef was higher (p <0.05) for the forage fin ished animals than those finished in the feedlot. There was no differe nce in scores from consumer panels (n=80) for steaks from feedlot or p asture finished animals, but scores for ground beef from cattle finish ed on the feedlot diet were higher than other treatments (p <0.05).