Sarcomere shortening of prerigor muscles and its influence on drip loss.

Detailed studies of muscle shortening post mortem at incubation temperatures between -2°C and +38°C revealed that the sarcomeres in unrestrained, excised red bovine muscle (M. sternomandibularis) shortened less than 10 % in the prerigor state between 6°C and 18°C. Below 6°C, sarcomeres contracted up to 70%.