Thirty-two steaks from the longissimus muscle, fifth rib to third lumbar vertebra, were obtained from youthful carcass beef. Half were sterilized by ultraviolet light and all vacuum packaged and stored for 1, 14, 28 or 57 days at 2°C. After storage, steaks were examined for microbial populations, myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), cooking characteristics and shear force (SF). Aerobic and anaerobic counts decreased during storage. Psychrotrophic counts were low throughout. Sterilization had no effect on SF or MFI. Cooking loss tended (P < 0.09) to increase with time of storage. SF values decreased and MFI values increased through day 14, but remained relatively constant after that. Results of SDS-PAGE, SF and MFI indicate major changes in proteolysis of myofibrils and tenderness were completed by day 14.