Table 2. Effects of back-fat and quality grade on meat characteristic of LL muscle

Traits	QG1+	QG1	SEM	F-value	BK1	BK2	BK3	SEM	F-value
pH	5.50	5.50	0.05	0.09	5.48	5.50	5.50	0.04	1.23
CIE L^*	39.84	39.29	2.49	0.57	39.04	39.82	39.47	2.44	0.34
CIE a^*	19.30	19.54	1.82	0.20	19.00	19.51	19.05	1.82	0.38
CIE b^*	14.96	14.73	2.38	0.11	14.79	14.64	14.82	2.28	0.03
Cooking loss (%)	15.24	15.57	2.43	0.21	15.79	15.32	15.36	2.48	0.12
Moisture (%)	56.06^b	59.02^a	4.32	6.15^*	58.92^a	57.57^ab	54.77^b	4.32	2.08
WBSF (kgf)	3.03	3.42	0.70	3.90	3.88^a	3.12^b	3.05^b	0.67	5.25^**
Maximum load (kgf)	2.36^b	2.74^a	0.65	4.24^*	2.92	2.49	2.50	0.62	1.59
Tensile strain (%)	144.80^b	184.50^a	63.83	4.96^*	190.34	154.79	184.47	62.72	1.49
Tensile extension (mm)	14.60^b	18.74^a	6.55	5.12^*	19.14	15.38	18.87	6.44	1.49

Signifies that two superscripts in the same row are significantly different.
p<0.05,
p<0.01.
LL, longissimus lumborum; QG1+, quality grade1+; QG1, quality grade1; BK1, back-fat thickness <10 mm; BK2, back-fat thickness 10 to 19 mm; BK3, back-fat thickness ≥19 mm; WBSF, Warner-Bratzler shear force.