**4. Conclusions**

Based on these results, US *Certified Angus Beef* striploins showed a clear advantage in textural quality as indicated by their lower WBSF and more desirable tenderness ratings, notwithstanding the similarities between CAB and CTNA in total and soluble collagen contents. The noticeable differences between the samples from both certified beef programs in the intramuscular fat and moisture percentages are explained by their inherent genetic and managemen<sup>t</sup> backgrounds. The same applies to the larger REA and lower marbling scores of the *CTNA* striploins in comparison with those of *CAB*.

In terms of sensory quality, the panels in the two countries concur that the *CAB* striploins outperformed the *CTNA* samples in juiciness, tenderness, and flavor.

The relevant numerical differences found between the rating assigned by the Spanish and the US panelists sugges<sup>t</sup> training differences, or difficulties encountered in using the appropriate terminology for defining each sensory attribute. Furthermore, the lack of product knowledge (i.e., consumption habits) may have been another reason for such differences, despite the blind sensory evaluation.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/10 .3390/foods10071474/s1, Table S1: Comparison of minimum specifications between USDA *Certified Angus Beef* and PGI-Certified *Ternera de Navarra*.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.J.B. and T.R.C.; methodology, K.I. and C.L.C.; software, F.C.I.; formal analysis, M.T.M.-A., K.I., F.C.I. and C.L.C.; investigation, M.T.M.-A.; writing—original draft preparation, M.J.B. and C.L.C.; writing—review and editing, F.C.I., K.I. and T.R.C.; supervision, M.J.B. and M.T.M.-A.; project administration, M.J.B. and T.R.C.; funding acquisition, M.J.B. and T.R.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The research was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project AGL-2009-13303-CO2-01).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to the compliance with national and/or European Regulations on animal husbandry and slaughter.

**Data Availability Statement:** All data from the research conducted are available on request from the corresponding author.

**Acknowledgments:** This project was carried out as part of an ongoing collaborative research effort between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain entitled "Beef Quality Attributes for Consumers and its Relationship with Beef Carcass Classification Systems in Spain and the USA". The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this paper and to the editor for their careful reading of the paper and their constructive comments.

**Conflicts of Interest:** Christine Leick Cord is employed at the Nestle Purina PetCare Company; however, this was not the situation when this research was performed. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
