WE ADDRESS PROGRAM AREA A1364, NOVEL FOODS AND INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES. BEEF FLAVOR DRIVES EATING EXPERIENCE AND PURCHASE DECISIONS; HOWEVER, LEAN BEEF IS LESS FLAVORFUL DUE TO THE LACK OF MARBLING (INTRAMUSCULAR FAT). MORE THAN A QUARTER OF BEEF PRODUCED IN THE U.S. IS LEAN BEEF.THE BODY OF LITERATURE AND OUR MOST RECENT STUDYSUGGESTTHAT WATER-SOLUBLE FLAVOR COMPOUNDS, THOSE THAT CAN BE EXTRACTED IN WATER AND MORE INFLUENTIAL ON TASTE,ARE MORE ABUNDANT IN LEAN BEEF AND IMPORTANT FOR LEAN BEEF FLAVOR. OUR LONG-TERM GOAL IS TO DEVELOP PROCESSING SOLUTIONS TO PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THE FLAVOR OF LEAN BEEF. WET AGING OF BEEF IS THE MOST COMMONLY USED TECHNIQUE TO INCREASE BEEF TENDERNESS BY ALLOWING VACUUM-PACKAGED BEEF TO REMAIN IN THE COOLER FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF UP TO 28 DAYS. OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE IN THIS SEED GRANT IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF WET AGING ON WATER-SOLUBLE FLAVOR COMPOUNDS, BEEF FLAVOR CHARACTERISTICS, AND CONSUMER WILLINGNESS-TO-PURCHASE (HOW MUCH CONSUMERS ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR A PRODUCT). OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT WET AGING ALTERS WATER-SOLUBLE FLAVOR COMPOUNDS IN A DIRECTION THAT IS DETRIMENTAL TO BEEF FLAVOR AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY. WE AIM TO (1) IDENTIFY CHANGES IN WATER-SOLUBLE FLAVOR COMPOUNDS IN LEAN BEEF THROUGH 21 DAYS OF WET AGING AND (2) EVALUATE DESCRIPTIVE FLAVORS (BY TRAINED PANELISTS WHO CAN QUANTIFY SPECIFIC QUALITY ATTRIBUTES) AND FLAVOR ACCEPTABILITY (BY CONSUMERS PANELISTS WHO TELL US HOW MUCH THEY LIKE CERTAIN QUALITY ATTRIBUTES)AND ESTIMATE HOW MUCH CONSUMERS ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR BEEF PRODUCTS AGED FOR VARIOUS DURATIONS. WE WILL COLLECT TWENTY LEAN BEEF LOINS FROM TEN ANIMALS, CUT EACH LOIN INTO TEN 2.5-CM STEAKS, RANDOMIZE STEAKS WITHIN AN ANIMAL TO BE AGED EITHER 0, 7, 14, OR 21 DAYS OF WET AGING, AND ANALYZE THESE STEAKS FOR THE ABOVE-MENTIONED VARIABLES. OUR RATIONALE IS THAT ONCE THE EFFECTS OF WET AGING ON FLAVOR AND WATER-SOLUBLE FLAVOR COMPOUNDS BECOME KNOWN, WE CAN OPTIMIZE THE AGING DURATION TO INCREASE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF LEAN BEEF. FURTHERMORE, THE KNOWLEDGE WILL BE USED TO IMPROVE THE MEAT FLAVOR PROFILE THROUGH POST-HARVEST PROCESSING AND INGREDIENT SOLUTIONS.