CHANGES IN FRESH BEEF DURING COLD STORAGE. 89 



The quarter of beef that had been held in storage in the packing- 

 house cooler for a period of oi days possessed organoleptic properties 

 that were similar to the beef that had been stored in the bureau's 

 cold-storage room for approximately the same periods of time. The 

 growth of mold upon this quarter of beef was a surface condition, 

 and while it was indicative of conditions favorable to the rapid de- 

 velopment of bacteria and the consequent deterioration of the meat, 

 no such change had yet taken place. 



Although in a few instances exposed portions of the stored quarters 

 of beef showed signs of deterioration, yet in all cases, as judged by 

 the organoleptic tests ordinarily applied, the edible portions of these 

 quarters would have been classed as wholesome. The authors ate 

 liberally of the test steak cut from each quarter of beef, both fresh 

 and stored, and in no case did they suffer any ill effects from so 

 doing. In this connection, however, it should be noted that the 

 authors were health}^ and well-nourished individuals. 



CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE BEEF. 



Briefly summarized, the changes which took place in the chemical 

 composition of the beef during storage consisted of a transformation 

 of the more complex constituents of the meat into simpler compounds, 

 with the consequent accumulation of certain of the end products of 

 those changes. In general the extent of the changes increased with 

 the period of storage. The changes were very similar in nature to, 

 but less in extent than, those that took place in lean beef during 

 aseptic autolysis, as reported in a previous section of this paper. 



Since the results of the bacteriological studies of the beef have 

 shown that there was no appreciable penetration of bacteria into the 

 meat during storage it may be concluded that the changes which 

 took place in the beef were due, in large part at least, to the action 

 of enzyms. Exception must be made to the kidney and external fatty 

 tissues, which Avere exposed to the action of bacteria. 



The changes which took place in the individual constituents of the 

 meat during storage and the significance of those changes as affecting 

 the wholesomeness and nutritive value of the meat are discussed in 

 the following paragraphs. 



Moviture^ fat-free basis. — Expecting in the case of the quarter of 

 beef stored for 14 days tlie moisture ccmtent of the meat decreased 

 during storage. In general the loss of moisture became greater as 

 the period of storage was lengthened, but the loss occurred less 

 rapidly in the meat stored in the packing-house cooler, with its high 

 humidity, than in the beef stored in the bureau's cold-storage room at 

 a lower humidity. These facts are in keeping with the ol)servations 

 made concerning the shrinkage in weight of the cold-storage beef. 



Anh. — The slight irregular changes noted in this constituent are 

 without significance. 



