Carcass evaluation
At the end of the experiment, all steers were transported
to a local abattoir (Gyeongsan, Korea) and slaughtered by
exsanguination after stunning. After chilling the carcasses
for 24 h at 4°C, cold carcass weight, indices (marbling
degree, LM area, fat thickness, meat color, fat color, texture,
and maturity at the 13th rib) for yield grade and quality
grade of the carcasses were measured according to the
Korean Beef Carcass Grading Standard (2014).