activity. On the other hand, Steen et al. (1997) found a weak positive
relationship in M. longissimus double-muscled Belgian Blue bulls between
shear force and temperature at 3 hours post-mortem but not
with pH early post-mortem. Several other reports identified an intermediate
pH decline (i.e. pH 5.9–6.2 at 1.5 hour post-mortem) as the
optimum for obtaining the most tender meat after ageing