As residents of the Southwind District, most are familiar with ticks this time of year and the risk of contracting Alpha-Gal Syndrome, an acquired sensitivity to coming in contact with the Lone Star Tick, including consuming beef containing the a-Gal, a strain of the virus.
Symptoms include mild itching to potentially fatal anaphylaxis.
Meat scientists at Kansas State University have begun research to determine the Alpha-Gal content and how much that concentration is at various degrees of doneness. Little research has been done to examine the a-Gal content of different products; thus, the objective of this study was to establish the a-Gal content of striploin steaks cooked to varying degrees of doneness to evaluate if heat treatment reduces the a-Gal content of red meat.
Ten beef striploins were collected from a Midwest beef processing plant and transported under refrigeration to the Kansas State University Meat Laboratory. The meat was cut into four steaks each and either left raw or cooked to medium rare (130°), medium (140°), or well done (160°). Striploins that were cooked to well done had the greatest a-Gal concentration among all cooking treatments, followed by steaks cooked to medium rare and medium, while steaks that were left raw had the lowest a-Gal concentration.
The bottom line: Cooking seems to concentrate a-Gal glycans to a higher degree than that of the raw striploins. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of other interventions to improve the care and management of AGS patients. If you have any questions regarding the content in this article, feel free to reach out to any Southwind Extension District office, or email at nickell99@ksu.edu.
Hunter Nickell is a K-State Research and Extension Livestock Agent assigned to the Southwind District. He may be reached at nickell99@ksu.edu or 620-365-2242
