Muscle from cattle slaughtered after 200 days on feed had longer(P < 0.01) sarcomere length at 24 h postmortem (Table 3). The WBSF1 d PM was lower in longissimus samples of cattle fed for 200 days(P = 0.02). However, WBSF of aged meat for 7 or 14 d postmortemwere not affected by time on feed (P > 0.05). Although the myofibrillar fragmentation index at 1 and 7 d PM were not different amongdays on feed, the MFI 14 d PM tended (P < 0.10) to be higher for cattleharvested at 0 day on feed. Increasing the length of feeding decreased(P = 0.03) WBSF change from 1 to 14 d PM. The relative abundance ofintact desmin tended to be higher (P = 0.07) in 14 d aged meat frombulls harvested after 200 days on feed compared with bulls harvested at0 and 100 days on feed (Fig. 6).Meat exudate losses during thawing and cooking were affected bytime on feed (P < 0.05), and 200 days fed cattle had lower meatexudate losses, regardless of aging time (1, 7, and 14 d PM). Fresh meat