Influence of Maternal and Postweaning Linseed Dietary Supplementation on Growth Rate, Lipid Profile, and Meat Quality Traits of Light Sarda Lambs

The effects of dietary extruded linseed (EL) on growth performance, meat quality, and lipid profile of Semimembranosus and Longissimus lumborum muscles of 81 Sarda lambs were studied in a 3 × 3 design: EL content (0%, 10%, and 20%) of maternal dietary concentrate fed from 20 d to parturition to 60 d of lactation and EL content (0%, 10%, 20%) of lamb concentrate fed after weaning for 30 d. The basal diet was composed of alfalfa and meadow hay during pregnancy and alfalfa hay during lactation. At slaughter, carcass and meat quality were evaluated. Sensory quality of Semimembranosus from 0% and 20% EL lambs was assessed. Both maternal and postweaning diets affected growth performance, with higher body weights recorded with the 10% EL concentrate. Carcass and meat quality were not affected by diet. Saturated and monounsaturated FA decreased and n-3 polyunsaturated FA increased with increasing EL content in lamb diet. An increase in vaccenic and rumenic acid was associated with the EL content of the maternal diet. Both diets increased the n-6/n-3 FA ratio. No differences in acceptability were detected by consumers among groups. It is concluded that EL supplementation and early life nutrition can influence performance and FA metabolism in growing lambs

An in vitro system for the comparison of excision and wet-dry swabbing for microbiological sampling of beef carcasses.

An in vitro system for the comparison of wet-dry swabbing and surface tissue excision was developed to ascertain whether the commonly accepted statement of the advantage (in terms of bacterial recovery) of the tissue excision method is also legitimate when different kinds of bacteria are used. A total of 1,770 sections (2.5 by 10 cm) of bovine skin were individually inoculated on the subcutaneous fat side by spreading various suspensions of marker organisms (nalidixic acid-resistant Escherichia coli, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) at different concentrations and sampled by two standard methods: cotton wet-dry swabbing and excision. Most counts from cuts sampled by excision were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the wet-dry swabs; however, no differences were observed between the control and the sampling method when sections were inoculated with bacterial solutions at a concentration of 10(3) CFU/ml and sampled by excision. For sections inoculated with bacterial solutions at a concentration of 10(3) CFU/ml, counts given as log CFU/25 cm2 ranged from 1.97 (S. aureus sampled by wet-dry swab) to 3.06 (S. aureus sampled by excision). For sections inoculated at a concentration of 10(4), counts given as log CFU/25 cm(2) ranged from 2.15 (E. faecalis sampled by wet-dry swab) to 3.19 (S. aureus sampled by excision). For sections inoculated at 10(5), counts given as log CFU/25 cm(2) ranged from 2.94 (E. faecalis, wet-dry swab) to 3.98 (S. aureus, excision), and for sections inoculated at 106, counts given as log CFU/25 cm(2) ranged from 3.53 (E. coli, wet-dry swab) to 4.69 (S. aureus, excision). The proposed system, which enabled a considerable amount of samples to be analyzed under controlled experimental conditions and a large number of data to be generated in a short time, demonstrated among the tested microorganisms that whereas the excision method recovered the highest number of bacteria, control means were always (with the exception of an inoculum of 10(3)/ml) significantly higher than means from either of the sampling methods. Our results indicate that particular attention should be paid to the diverse microflora that can contaminate carcasses in a given slaughterhouse and that it is not appropriate to generalize by saying that the destructive method is the reference technique for the bacteriological sampling of carcasses in slaughterhouses, especially when the contamination is higher than 10(3) CFU/25 cm(2)

Microbial, physicochemical and sensory characteristics of salami produced from Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) population in central Italy has strongly increased in the last decades. The meat of the game is characterized by high-quality value and the manufacture of food products from game meat could represent a remarkable added value for the local market promoting local gastronomic specialties and traditions. Adult animals were hunted with the waiting method and the carcasses were processed into the game processing center. Five batches of salami were produced with different amounts of wild boar meat and pork meat. The microbiological, physicochemical, rheological, and sensory evaluations were performed. The microbiological analyses indicated that the salami is safe to consume as Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were undetectable in the end products. The Enterobacteriaceae count was below 3 log CFU.g-1 attesting to the adequacy of hygienic characteristics of the process. The chemical composition analyses showed lower lipid content in comparison to pork salami, while the rheological characteristics were equivalent among products. The sensory evaluation highlighted that the consumers' appreciation of wild boar salami is comparable to that of traditional pork salami

quality traits of ciauscolo salami from meat of pigs fed rosemary extract enriched diet

The microbiological, chemical-physical and organoleptic characteristics of four batches of Ciauscolo salami, two made from meat of pigs fed diet integrated with 0.2% of rosemary extract (RS) and two controls (CSs), were considered. Three samples for each batch were in double analyzed for total bacterial count at 30°C, enumeration of lactococci, lactobacilli, staphylococcus coagulase positive, enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae, and isolation of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, after filling and at 7 and 20 days of ripening. On the same samples, measurement of pH (pHmeter MP120; Mettler-Toledo Spa, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland), activity water (aw) (Hygroscope BT-RS1 Rotronic; PBI International, Milan, Italy) and CIE L*a*b* colour (Chromameter Minolta C400; Minolta Ltd., Osaka, Japan) were performed. Proximal composition, NaCl content (AOAC, 1990) thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARs) and panel test (ISO 8586-1:1993 and ISO 8586) were performed only on samples obtained at the end of the ripening time. No difference in proximal composition, pH, aw values and microbial counts between CS and RS samples were observed along the whole production period. Colour analyses reveal higher a* values in RS (10.79 vs 9.68, P<0.05). Higher TBARs mean value was recorded in CS at the end of ripening (1.12 vs 0.91 mg MDA/100g, P<0.01). Even if no statistical differences were recorded in all the parameters considered in sensory evaluation, the overall acceptance of RS samples tended to be higher than CS

Dietary effects of oregano (Origanum vulgaris L.) plant or sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) wood extracts on microbiological, chemical-physical characteristics and lipid oxidation of cooked ham during storage

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary effect of feeding pigs with diets enriched with sweet chestnut wood (Castanea sativa Mill.) or oregano (Origanum vulgaris L.) extract on the microbiological and chemical characteristics of cooked pork ham. Three groups of 10 pigs were fed with a control diet (CTRL), with the CTRL diet enriched with 0.2% of oregano extract (OR) and with the CTRL diet enriched with 0.2% of sweet chestnut wood extract (SCW), respectively. Six cooked hams per group were produced, sliced and packaged under a modified atmosphere (N2:CO2=80:20) and stored at refrigeration temperature (4±1°C). Three packages per cooked ham were sampled for analyses at three different storage times (0, 10 and 20 days). At day 0 time, antioxidant capacity of the products (ORACFL assay) and chemical composition were performed. At each sampling time, from all the samples the following analyses were performed: Total Microbial Count (TMC), Lactic Acid Bacteria count (LAB), Enterobacteriaceae count, Listeria monocytogenes, pH value, colour coordinates (L*, a*, b*), total basic volatile nitrogen (TBVN) and thio-barbituric reactive substances (TBARs) determinations. No differences in TMC, LAB and Enterobacteriaceae count, pH, TBVN, chemical composition and L* values were registered between the three groups at all the sampling times considered. No Listeria monocytogenes was detected in the samples tested. Significant differences were registered for ORACFL at 0 days, a* and b* values and TBARs value at 10 and 20 days of storage, with higher values for ORACFL, a* and b* values and lower values for TBARs in SCW and OR than CTRL. No antimicrobial effect could be recorded for OR and SCW but a higher oxidative stability, also highlighted by the colour maintenance, was observed in both OR and SCW

Ante-mortem and Post-mortem Inspection and Relationship between Findings in a North Albanian Pig Slaughterhouse

Simple Summary In European Union abattoirs, the safety of meat is dependent on the favorable opinion from an official veterinarian, in accordance with the current legislation. From this perspective, the feedback generated from the ante-mortem visit and the post-mortem inspection can be investigated to control the health and welfare conditions of the animals in the pre-slaughter phases. From this perspective, we evaluated the ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection outcomes of slaughtered pigs in northern Albania and correlated the results in order to gain insight into the conditions and injuries of pigs slaughtered outside the European context and to extend knowledge on the possible relationship between ante-mortem and post-mortem relief. Dyspnea and tail, skin, and ear lesions were the most frequently observed conditions before slaughter, while pleuritis, pneumonia, liver alterations, white spots on the liver, and pericarditis were the most frequent lesions after slaughter. A significant increase in the total number of post-mortem findings was also observed as the number of ante-mortem findings increased. Overall, the prevalence of the findings observed in this study falls within the broad range of the data in the literature, but additional information should be collected during meat inspection so as to better understand the relationship between ante- and post-mortem outcomes. In June 2014, Albania was granted EU candidate status, thus starting a process of compliance with the membership criteria. In this context, a modern meat inspection approach in line with the European legislation was applied to a pig slaughterhouse in northern Albania in order to investigate the ante-mortem (AM) and post-mortem (PM) conditions and the relationship between these findings. For this purpose, 3930 pigs divided into 35 batches were evaluated over a 3-month period. The most frequent AM conditions recorded were tail lesions and dyspnea (9.1%), followed by skin (8.9%) and ear lesions (8.5%), while in the PM inspections, pleuritis was the most frequently observed condition (10.2%), followed by pneumonia (8.5%), liver alterations (5.7%), milk spot liver (3.8%), and pericarditis (3.3%). With the exception of liver alterations, the other PM lesions mentioned were positively associated with lesions on the ears (OR = 1.036; p &lt; 0.001) and skin (OR = 1.026; p = 0.011) and dyspnea (OR = 1.021; p = 0.005), confirming the link between these variables and the health and welfare conditions of pigs on farms. Overall, the evidence that emerged from this Albanian slaughterhouse can be considered in line with other European contexts, especially in light of the considerable variability in the data present in the literature

Contribution of vegetables and cured meat to dietary nitrate and nitrite intake in Italian population: Safe level for cured meat and controversial role of vegetables

Nitrate and nitrite content was determined on a total of 900 samples of vegetables and cured meat and the nitrite and nitrate exposure assessment was evaluated for central Italy population based on the food consumption data reported by the national dietary surveys. The highest average content of nitrate was detected in rocket salad (4415 mg/kg) and radish (3817 mg/kg) and for cured meat in “Bresaola” (188 mg/kg) and in Bacon (178 mg/kg). The nitrite content was negligible both in vegetables than in cured meat. The average consumption among population resulted 3.45 g/kg bw/die and 0.62 g/kg bw/die for vegetables and cured meat respectively. The obtained data confirm that nitrate ADI was higher than the limits of 3.7 mg/kg bw/die for infants and was the highest exposure level for people of all ages. Cured meat consumption did not contribute to nitrate ADI exceedance neither as a mean nor as 99th percentile of exposure

Olive mill wastewater phenolic concentrate as natural antioxidant against lipid-protein oxidative deterioration in chicken meat during storage

Considering that many plant-derived substances show antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, natural antioxidant administered through feed in livestock animals could increase the shelf life of meat and meat products. The aim of this work was to study the effect of olive oil by-products on chicken meat lipid and protein oxidation and oxidative stability during storage. Two hundred and ninety-seven 22-day-old fast growing (Ross 308) female chicks were randomly assigned to three experimental grower-finisher diets: i) a basal control diet (CTR), ii) CTR diet supplemented with a low dosage (4.8%) of olive mill wastewater extract (L-OW) and iii) CTR diet supplemented with a high dosage (9.9%) of olive mill wastewater extract (H-OW). Breast meat of animals belonging to each experimental group was sliced, overwrapped with oxygen-permeable packaging and analysed at three different storage times (zero, three and seven days). At the three sampling times considered, for all samples, colour coordinates (a*), saturation index, Hue angle, peroxide value, thiobarbituric reactive substance, carbonyl assay and the oxygen radical absorbance capacity determinations were performed. No differences in colour were detected among the groups in all the sampling times considered. In conclusion, the supplementation of chicken diet with olive mill wastewater extract (OW) affected oxidation of meat, retarding lipid and protein oxidation and improving antioxidant activity during storage

Quality Evaluation of Shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) Treated with Phenolic Extract from Olive Vegetation Water during Shelf-Life, before and after Cooking

The focus of this study was to assess the quality traits and sensory profile of cooked rose shrimps (Parapenaeus longirostris) treated with a phenolic extract, derived from olive vegetation water (PEOVW). To achieve the aim, four different groups of shrimps were analysed, specifically the control (CTRL) group, where the shrimps were soaked in tap water; sulphites (S) group with shrimps soaked in 0.5% sodium metabisulfite tap water solution, phenolic extract (PE) group where a tap water solution containing 2 g/L of phenols was used; and PE+S group where the shrimps were dipped in 0.25% sodium metabisulfite tap water solution containing 1 g/L of phenols. The groups were then stored at 2 °C and analysed on the day of packaging (D0), after 3 (D3), 6 (D6), and 8 (D8) days. On each group, microbiological parameters such as Enterobacteriaceae, mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria, and colorimetric indices were investigated on six (n = 6) shrimps before cooking, while the evolution of the phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and sensory analysis during the storage period were evaluated on cooked shrimps. Regarding colour coordinates, there were no noteworthy variations overtime nor between groups, while it is important to note that the microbiological results for the PE group showed at each time interval and for all the considered parameters, significantly lower values than the other groups (p &lt; 0.05). This result is very interesting when considered further in correlation with the sensory analysis, where shrimps mainly in PE and secondarily in PE+S groups were shown to retain the freshness characteristics better than the other groups (α = 0.01), without giving the shrimps any particularly bitter and pungent sensations typical of the olive phenolic compounds. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study give PEOVW the potential to be valorised in the food sector and, above all, it could represent a sustainable solution to reduce the use of synthetic additives