Stephen B. Smith Presents Long-Term Study Of Fatty Acid Composition Of Wagyu Beef At TWA General Meeting
Stephen B. Smith, Ph.D., Regents Professor, Meat Sciences, Texas A&M University, presented on the Long-Term Study Of Fatty Acid Composition Of Wagyu Beef at the Texas Wagyu Association General Meeting held in Salado, Texas on 4/22/2016
TWA members attending the 2016 TWA General Meeting held in Salado Texas on 4/22/2016 were treated to an informative presentation on the health benefits and mouth-watering taste of Wagyu beef from the perspective of an expert in beef fat.
Dr. Smith, a renowned expert on meat fats, who speaks around the world on the subject, gave a very informative and interesting presentation that provided scientific evidence of the superior taste and health benefits of Wagyu beef.
Dr. Smith’s presentation, presenting evidence from Texas A&M University studies, highlighted the following:
1. That Wagyu beef is more juicy and flavorful as compared to other types of beef due to the lower melting point of the marbling fat in Wagyu beef, which is in part due to genetics and in part due to the longer feeding of Wagyu cattle.
2. That Wagyu beef contains higher levels of Oleic Acid as compared to other types of beef, which provides health benefits.
3. As human intake of beef fat increases, intake of carbohydrates decreases as energy requirements are met by the energy from the fat consumed, showing that consumption of fat is not necessarily bad from the perspective of human health.
4. That beef fat with a higher ratio of Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (“MUFA”) to Saturated Fatty Acid (“SFA”) was healthier for human consumption, and also gave the beef a more juicy, flavorful taste because a higher ratio of MUFA/SFA resulted in a lower melting point of the marbling fat in the beef, which improved the “mouth feel” and taste of the beef.
5. That the ratio of MUFA/SFA is better for beef from Wagyu cattle as compared to beef from other types of cattle.
6. That in a test of Angus and Wagyu cattle fed corn vs. pasture+hay+corn, that when fed for a shorter duration, the corn diet resulted in a higher MUFA/SFA ratio (and a lower melting point fat), but that long-fed Wagyu on the pasture+hay+corn diet had the highest MUFA/SFA ratio (and the lowest melting point fat).
To download a copy of Dr. Smith’s presentation slide deck in PDF file format click on the link below:
