A darkcutter or dark cutter (also known as DFD, or Dark Firm Dry) is a carcass of

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

that has been subjected to undue stress before slaughter, and is dark in color. Sometimes referred to as dark cutting beef, they have a dark color which makes the meat appear less fresh, making them undesirable to consumers. Darkcutters fetch a lower price than otherwise ordinary beef on the market. Desirable meat has a slightly acidic pH level, from 5.3 to 5.7, which is a result of the conversion of

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. It is the main storage form of glucose in the human body. Glycogen functions as one of three regularly used forms ...

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

. Poor feeding or handling will mean that no glycogen is available, so lactic acid cannot be produced to lower the pH. Stress ''ante mortem'' causes a depletion of glycogen stores in the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

and

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

s. Thus the

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

normally used ''post mortem'' to produce ATP anaerobically and in turn resulting in lactic acid production before the development of ''

rigor mortis Rigor mortis (), or postmortem rigidity, is the fourth stage of death. It is one of the recognizable signs of death, characterized by stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemical changes in the muscles postmortem (mainly calcium ...

'', is unavailable. The muscle pH stays high (above 6.0), resulting in higher water-holding capacity (sticky protein) and more translucent muscle, which looks darker because light travels deeper into the muscle before being

refracted In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenome ...

. To prevent and address darkcutting, it is suggested to keep the animals calm and well fed before culling. If the livestock do not consume enough nutrition, or deplete it while stressed by poor handling, the levels of glycogen will be reduced. Severe stress leads to a proportionate depletion in the animal's glycogen.

References

Beef Meat industry {{Meat-stub

See also

References