The influence of the degree of maturity and thermal processing on the content of B vitamins in beef

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the content of  B vitamins in various culinary elements of raw beef with differing degree of maturity. The types of thermal processing chosen for the study were: frying, grilling and/or roasting. The study material consisted of meat purchased in meat industrial plants immediately after the slaughter of animals at the age of 20-25 months. There were 5 culinary elements chosen for the study: topside spread, tenderloin, rump cut, shoulder and silverside, which were vacuum packed directly after the slaughter and kept refrigerated at 1^oC in order to obtain different degrees of maturity (5, 10 and 15 days). It has been shown that beef is a good source of vitamin B₁₂ and a poor source of other B vitamins, i.e. thiamine (B₁) or riboflavin. Topside spread and shoulder contained the least of vitamin B₁₂  and niacin (vit PP), however, a considerably higher content of these vitamins was observed in tenderloin, rump cut and silverside. Additionally, the content of  thiamine (vit B₁), riboflavin (vit B₂) and vit B₆  varied considerably in different culinary elements of beef, however, it did not depend on the curing time.