| abstract |
The present invention is made for the purpose of improving beef quality and upgrading its fat marbling standard (which is called beef marbling standard, or BMS). The fat marbling state is generally called “Shimofuri” in Japanese. This purpose is achieved by feeding to the animal biotin in combination with a mixture of at least two essential oil compounds selected from the group consisting of thymol, eugenol, meta-cresol, vanillin and guaiacol. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, biotin is used in an amount sufficient to provide a daily dosage of 0.01 mg to 0.3 mg per kg body weight and the essential oils are administered in amounts (total dosage ranges of essential oils) of 0.5 to 4 mg per kg body weight per day. In terms of the quality of the meat, the combined use of biotin and the essential oils as defined above shows significant differences in the fat marbling (Shimofuri), luster, firmness and texture of the meat compared to the meat of non-treated animals. |