Vitamin E supplementation effects on beef retail, cut case-life and economic attributes in actual store conditions

The effects of supplementing at rates of 0 or 500 IU/animal/day of alpha -t ocopheryl acetate (VITE) for the last 100 days of the finishing period on r etail beef case-life were observed Obtainable case-life was prolonged (P < 0.05) by feeding supplemental VITE for ground beef (by 9 h), steaks from th e clod (9 h), ribeye (14 h), strip loin (8 h) and inside round (17 h) and f or roasts from the inside round (5 h). Packages discounted were decreased ( P < 0.05) by feeding supplemental VITE for ground beef (7 percentage points ), for steaks from the clod (7 percentage points), ribeye (2 percentage poi nts), strip loin (3 percentage points), tenderloin (2 percentage points) an d inside round (4 percentage points) and from roasts from the inside round (14 percentage points). This study indicated that supplementing cattle with VITE improved case-life and decreased discount percentages of retail beef products.