Association between red meat consumption and cancer risk

Cancer is leading cause of mortality worldwide. It is assumed that cancer risk is mainly affected by environmental factors including diet habits. Among other food, it is considered that red meat consumption is linked to increased risk of cancer. Formation of mutagens, heterocyclic aromatic amines, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mainly depend on cooking methods and is the highest in pan fried and barbecued meat. Fat, N-nitroso compounds and haeme iron which are also found in meat and meat products are considered to influence the occurrence of cancer. Colorectal cancer is the most often associated with red meat consumption, but studies show that meat eating may increase the risk for other types of cancer including breast cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, laryngeal cancer and bladder, kidney, and endometrial tumors

Snail meat: Significance and consumption

The consumption of snail meat goes back to prehistoric times. Different ancient nations had snails on their menu, but Helices culture as a productive activity was born as a Roman culture. Some of the most economically important edible species are: Helix aspersa (Mtiller) Helixpomatia (Linne), Helix iucorum (Linne), Helix aperta (Born), Eobania vermiculata (Miiller). Together with its tasie, snail meat has several advantages over others: quite low lipid rate and calorie values versus rich mineral, essential amino acid and fatty acid content. The composition of snail meat is presented. In addition, the composition of different snail species and the part analyzed (pedal mass and visceral mass) is presented. Also, the differences in composition according to the species (snail meat horse/chicken meat, beef, swine meat, fish meat) are presented. The French are the world's leading consumers of snails. !n France snails come to market in a variety of ways. Estimated consumption of snails in France is around 40 000 tones/year. Total French imports account for 25% of world imports. France is also the leading exporter of prepared snails, mainly sold as preserved snails and prepared dishes. Snail imports have been much higher than exports (65 tones exported in 2002. vs. 2.700 tones imported). Despite the large consumption, only 3% of snails in France come from production (farming). Italy is in second place in the world consumption of snails, and Spain and Germany are in the third and fourth place. The development of snails consumption in Italy is followed with the same amount of production of snails in the whole biological circle. In 2001, from 24,700 tons, 9,350 tons (37.8%) came from production, 6 00 tons (2.4%) came from nature, and 14,750 tons (59.70%) came from imports (frozen, fresh and prepared snails). In Serbia, at the beginning of 2005, we had over 400 registered farms for snail production

Ishrana i kvalitet mesa

There are numerous factors which influence the quality of pork meat (genetic basis, rearing conditions, preslaughter procedures, carcass treatment, cooling). It is understandable that nutrition is one of the major factors which influence the quantity and quality of meat. Main objective of proper nutrition is the best utilization of the genetic potential of pigs, and obtaining of meat which will satisfy the consumer or be used as raw material in manufacturing of meat products. Quality of pig meat is most often associated with pH value, colour succulence, tenderness, content of intramuscular fat (marbling), sustainability and, in general, acceptability by consumers. In this paper, the effect of certain modifications in pig nutrition on post mortal changes, selected technological properties of meat (pH value, water binding capacity, and colour), content of intramuscular fat, quality of fat and acceptability of meat is presented.Brojni su činioci koji utiču na kvalitet mesa svinja (genetska osnova, uslovi gajenja, postupci pre klanja, klanje, obrada trupa, hlađenje). Razume se da je ishrana jedan od veoma značajnih činilaca koji utiče i na količinu i na kvalitet mesa. Osnovni cilj pravilne ishrane je što je moguće više iskorišćavanje genetskog potencijala svinja, i dobijanje mesa koje će zadovoljiti potrošača ili naći svoju namenu u izradi proizvoda od mesa. Kvalitet svinjskog mesa se najčešće vezuje za pH vrednost, boju, sočnost, mekoću, sadržaj intramuskularne masti (mramoriranost), održivost i, uopšte, za prihvatljivost od strane potrošača. U ovom radu prikazan je uticaj određenih modifikacija u ishrani svinja na postmortalne promene, odabrane tehnološke osobine mesa (pH vrednost, sposobnost vezivanja vode, boja), sadržaj intramuskularne masti, kvalitet masti i prihvatljivost mesa

Meat in traditional Serbian cuisine

The use of meat in traditional Serbian cuisine can be divided into three periods. The first period is the time from the arrival of Slavs in the Balkans, through the Middle Ages to the early 19 th century. The second period, the 19 th and the first half of the 20 th centuries, can be marked as special due to significant changes that impacted traditional Serbian cuisine, compared to the first period. It was a period during which the Europeanization of Serbia took place in all spheres of life, including cuisine. After World War II, Serbia and many surrounding countries eperienced a great surge in industrialization in all economic fields, including that of food production. The last sixty years has seen the globalization of our food supply, with food being transported globally from one part of the world to another, and which resulted in neglected traditional, local cuisines. Therefore, many countries, including Serbia, recognize a need for preserving traditional cuisine. This recognition has initiated several mechanisms for maintaining Europe's gastronomic herit-age. Preservation of traditional cuisine in Serbia has special significance for tourism development

Antimicrobial growth promoters in feed - possibilities and necessity

The attention of the scientific and professional communities, as well as of food consumers, has always been directed towards finding adequate nutritional strategies that could improve food production and safety. By using antibiotics as feed additives, farmers gained increased profits based on higher growth rates with better feed conversion and lower costs of therapeutic treatment. The quantities of antibiotics used as growth promoters for farm animals have been increasing constantly, but at the same time, the frequency of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the presence of antibiotic residues in food have become a global problem. To eliminate or minimize these risks, on 1 January 2006, antibiotics were banned from use as additives in animal nutrition in the European Union. Accordingly, there is interest in developing new nutritional strategies that would support the function of the autochthonous microbiota in the animal gastrointestinal tract to control pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics, prebiotics, phytobiotics and feed enzymes are a new generation of growth promoters and largely achieve their effects by using the physiological mechanisms of animals and/or their intestinal microbiomes, enabling animals to completely fulfil their genetic potential with respect to production properties

The presence of Salmonella spp. in Belgrade domestic refrigerators

The probability of contamination of domestic refrigerators seems to be greater for Salmonella, than other, distinctly psychrotolerant bacteria. This survey investigated Salmonella spp. contamination of domestic refrigerators in households (n = 100). The presence of Salmonella species was found in 13.95% of households that kept eggs in designated egg storage in refrigerators (n = 86). We identified 12 serotypes of Salmonella spp. with antimicrobial resistance, of which 50% were identified as S. Typhimurium. The results obtained confirm the need to strongly advise consumers how to properly arrange different foodstuffs inside household refrigerators

Influence of marination on salmonella spp. Growth in broiler breast fillets

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of marination, on the growth of Salmonella spp. in contaminated broiler breast fillets during storage. In the conducted study, broiler breast fillets were inoculated with a cocktail of different Salmonella strains and afterwards marinated in different solutions of table salt, sodium tripolyphosphate and/or sodium citrate. The total count of Salmonella spp. was examined on the 0, 3rd, 6th and 9th day of storage. Broiler breast fillets salted in 6% solution of table salt were used as the control. Proximate composition and salt content, pH value and a(w) value, were determined as the meat quality parameters and parameters which can affect environmental conditions for bacterial growth, as well. Compared to initial contamination, Salmonella spp. count in marinated and salted fillets did not change significantly (p 0.05) on protein and fat content in broiler meat. According to the results obtained it can be concluded that marination of broiler breast fillets in solutions containing table salt, sodium trpolyphosphate and/or citrate, in some way, can prolongate the lag phase of Salmonella spp. growth, where sodium citrate is more effective than sodium tripolyphosphate

New scientific challenges - the possibilities of using selenium in poultry nutrition and impact on meat quality

Physiological stress is one of many concerns facing modern broiler production. In conditions when birds are exposed to stress, supplementation of selenium, which is a crucial glutathione peroxidase enzymatic cofactor, increases the antioxidant capacity of the animals and decreases the harmful effects of free radicals. Dietary selenium improves production performance and health of animals, and positively affects the immune system, the quality, selenium content and fatty acid composition of meat and eggs. There are several different forms of selenium, the most common dietary supplements being an inorganic form (sodium selenite) and anorganic form (selenomethionine). However, in recent years, new forms of selenium, such as a 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutanoic acid (HMSeBA) and nanoselenium, which have more bioavailability, bioefficacy, and low toxicity have been designed. In this short comparative overview discusses the effects of inorganic, organic and nanoforms of selenium on production results, glutathione peroxidase activity, meat quality and level of toxicity in poultry

Pre-slaughter stress and pork quality

Stress is an inevitable consequence of handling of animals for slaughter. Stress conditions during transport, lairage and at slaughter induce undesirable effects on the end quality of meat such as pale, soft, exudative meat and dark firm dry meat. Hence, it is very important to define appropriate parameters for objective assessment of level of stress. Attempts to define measures of stress have been difficult and no physiological parameter has been successfully used to evaluate stress situations. One physiological change in swine associated with animal handling stress and with pork quality is an increase in blood lactate concentration. Plasma cortisol was thought to be an appropriate indicator of stress, but the concentration was not consistently changed by different stressors. Therefore, finding alternative parameters reacting to stressors, such as acute phase proteins, would be of great value for the objective evaluation of level of stress and meat quality. As the stress during pre-slaughter handling is unavoidable, the final goal is to improve transport and slaughter conditions for the animal and, as a consequence, meat quality and animal welfare

Wooden breast - a novel myopathy recognized in broiler chickens

Abnormally hard breast fillet consistency began to emerge in commercial broiler chickens around 2010. Due to the remarkable muscle hardness, the condition acquired the vernacular name wooden breast myopathy. This myopathy starts to develop after two weeks of age at the earliest and typically proceeds into chronic myodegeneration in three to four weeks of age. The lesion begins focally and typically develops into a diffuse lesion that involves the entire major pectoral muscle. The restricted location of wooden breast lesion in the m. pectoralis major distinguishes it from several other myodegenerative diseases that widely affect the skeletal muscle system and often the cardiac and smooth muscle systems too. Although industry-wide incidence rates are difficult to assess, it has been estimated that approximately 5-10% of commercially produced breast fillets exhibit severe WB. Even at low incidence rates, the costs to industry are substantial, as breast fillets with the wooden breast condition are often downgraded and sold at a discount, used for further processing, or in extreme cases, discarded. Because the etiology of wooden breast is still unclear, in the future, study of the early lesions, pathogenesis and the possible reduction of animal welfare are likely to gain more attention