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 54 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 healthy 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 were 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. 
Moisture, fat- free basis. — Expecting in the case of the quarter of 
beef stored for 14 days the moisture content 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 observations 
made concerning the shrinkage in weight of the cold-storage beef. 
Ash. — The slight irregular changes noted in this constituent are 
without significance. 
