The Merriam Webster dictionary simply defines meat as “animal tissue especially as food”. The code of federal regulations goes a step further and specifically includes the tongue, diaphragm, heart, and esophagus as meat products, but lists lips, snouts, and ears as muscle typically not included as meat. Meat includes all red meats from animal sources, although the only ones commonly available are beef, veal, pork, and lamb (or mutton in some countries).
For the American Meat Science Association (AMSA), meat is skeletal muscle and its associated tissues derived from mammalian, avian, reptilian, amphibian, and aquatic species commonly harvested for human consumption.
Beef meat is a major source of high-quality dietary proteins for human metabolic processes due to its constituent amino acids. In addition, the peptides derivate during the digestion process in human were found to possess known biological functions as well as potential health-promoting functions.
This meat is also rich in microminerals such as iron, selenium, zinc, copper and manganese. All of them are essential, because of their role in key metabolism pathways and in the antioxidative enzymatic system. Beef fat, with its comparatively high content of saturated, long-chain fatty acids is quite different from pork, lamb, or various types of poultry and fish.
Proteins of beef consist of essential amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, cystine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, arginine and histidine; of these the last two are considered essential for infants.
One of the most effective practices for improving the safety and quality of meat is proper storage temperature. Beef may be held at a temperature of 16°C (61°F) for between 16 and 20 hours after slaughter before being aged at 2°C (36°F) to promote tenderness.
Beef meat: definition and nutrient content
