What are the processing methods for premium beef?

Premium beef refers to high-quality cuts from rapidly fattened, superior beef cattle that, after standard slaughtering, pre-chilling (cutting) and aging processes, meet specific requirements for meat color, marbling and shear force indicators.

Compared with ordinary beef, premium beef commands a higher price. Currently, imported premium beef on the market is priced at 12-25 USD/kg.

Under conventional processing conditions, in order to meet specific quality requirements, premium beef needs to be aged at 0-4°C for 14-21 days, so as to complete the post-slaughter changes in the meat, improve its eating quality, and make it edible meat with good eating quality. Prolonged aging not only increases product weight loss and reduces product yield, but also, due to energy consumption, substantially increases product cost and lengthens the production cycle. Therefore, how to shorten the aging time of premium beef and improve its quality has become one of the key core technologies constraining the rapid, sustainable and efficient development of China's beef cattle industry.

Chilled meat refers to meat whose deep temperature has been lowered to above the freezing point (0-4°C) and which is stored, distributed and sold within this temperature range. Chilled meat overcomes the poor microbial stability and easy spoilage of hot fresh meat, while also avoiding the nutrient loss and juice exudation shortcomings of frozen meat. Therefore, chilled meat is one of the directional products for China's meat industry in the future.