Fatty Acid Characterization of Beef Longissimus from Steers Finished on Fodder Beet or Traditional Winter Forages in New Zealand Compared to US Grain-Fed Beef

Fatty acids were evaluated to characterize lipid profiles of beef from 3 feeding programs: New Zealand (NZ) fodder beet (FB), NZ grass/non-FB (NFB), and United States grain. Strip loins were selected within each program based on expected eating quality focusing on marbling, ossification, and pH. Selection resulted in 6 treatments: FB high quality, FB low quality, NFB high quality, NFB low quality, US Top Choice, and US Select. Samples were aged 21 d or 35 d postmortem. A subset of 152 samples (12–13 per treatment combination) were used for fatty acid characterization. Within the polar lipid fraction, US treatments had lower monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and greater polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) than NZ treatments (P < 0.05). Within the neutral lipid fraction, concentrations of total neutral lipids and proportions of saturated fatty acid, MUFA, and PUFA were affected by treatment (P < 0.05). Total neutral lipids were greatest in Top Choice (P < 0.05) and greater in FB high qual