We studied effects of freeze-thaw treatments, storage time, light and film permeability on color of frozen longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle from control and vitamin E supplemented (2100 IU/head/day) Holstein steers. Color changes with time were modeled using an exponential decay equation. Dietary vitamin E supplementation increased color stability of frozen LL samples kept at -20-degrees-C. After 3 mo of dark storage, saturation index and a* for control LL wrapped in polyethylene were 11.4 and 8.8; for supplemented meat, same conditions, they were 19.0 and 17.0, respectively. Illumination and vacuum packaging increased color changes. Predisplay dark storage of 30 days reduced discoloration of supplemented LL. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles caused fading of semimembranosus muscle (SM) and the effect was more pronounced in meat from control animals.