Composition and eating quality of beef from young male dairy cattle derived from different production systems assessed by standard and rapid spectroscopic methods

The objective of this thesis was to assess the eating quality of beef from young male Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Jersey×Holstein-Friesian (JEX) dairy cattle from different production systems. Bulls were slaughtered at 15, 19 and 22 months, after finishing on diets differing in energy content. Longissimus thoracis (LT), Semitendinosus (ST) and Gluteus medius (GM) muscles were assessed primarily from bulls. Effects of carcass suspension method and ageing time on eating quality were also investigated. Standard eating quality variables assessed were post-mortem pH-temperature window, ultimate pH, colour, WarnerBratzler variables (WBSF, WB-slope, WB-area), cooking loss, intramuscular fat (IMF), moisture and protein content, collagen characteristics, fatty acid (FA) composition and sensory attributes. Raman spectroscopy (RS) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were explored as rapid methods to predict eating quality characteristics. The JEX breed type had superior eating quality to HF, while their FA profiles were similar. Slaughter age affected collagen characteristics. Higher energy diets produced beef with relatively better eating quality, but a less healthy FA profile than mainly forage diets. However, amount of concentrates in the first or second grazing season had limited effects on meat quality traits. Quality varied between muscles and the interaction between muscle and production system was significant for IMF content and FA profile. Eating quality of LT was superior but FA profile was inferior to GM and ST. Steer beef had superior eating quality to bull beef. Compared to Achilles tendon suspension (AS), Pelvic suspension (PS) improved tenderness up to 7 days of ageing and accelerated ageing processes. Both RS (1300-2800 cm-1) and NIRS (400-1900 nm) showed considerable potential for assessing physico-chemical quality traits from young male dairy beef, with RS demonstrating enhanced prediction performance. Consistent and significant correlations were also obtained among technological, compositional, sensorial and nutritional quality traits for dairy beef

The eating quality of beef from young dairy bulls derived from two breed types at three ages from two different production systems

peer-reviewedExpansion of the Irish dairy herd has led to more dairy breed male calves being available for beef production. This study investigated the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of beef from Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Jersey × HF (JEX) young bulls fed pasture grass only or pasture grass plus 2 kg concentrate during their first grazing season and slaughtered at 15, 19 or 22 mo of age. Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscles were collected from 67 carcasses. Postmortem pH, ultimate pH (pHu), meat colour, chemical composition, collagen content and solubility were evaluated. After ageing for 21 d, Warner-Bratzler shear force and cooking loss were determined, and assessments by a trained sensory panel were conducted. Meat from older animals was darker. The pHu, moisture and ash contents decreased, while residual roast beef flavour length increased with age. However, increasing age to slaughter did not negatively influence tenderness. JEX beef had lower cooking loss, was darker and redder, in addition to having higher sensory scores for initial tenderness and fattiness than HF beef. Warner-Bratzler variables were positively correlated with cooking loss and chewiness and were negatively correlated with intramuscular fat (IMF) content, soluble collagen and initial tenderness. In summary, most young dairy bull beef samples were acceptably tender after 21 d of ageing and half of them had acceptable IMF content. Slaughter age affected beef colour, pHu, chemical composition and flavour length. The eating quality of meat from the JEX breed type was considered to be superior to that of the HF breed type. Diet during the first season had no effect on meat quality traits

Assessment of physico-chemical traits related to eating quality of young dairy bull beef at different ageing times using Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics

peer-reviewedRaman spectroscopy and chemometrics were investigated for the prediction of eating quality related physico-chemical traits of Holstein-Friesian bull beef. Raman spectra were collected on the 3rd, 7th and 14th days post-mortem. A frequency range of 1300–2800 cm− 1 was used for partial least squares (PLS) modelling. PLS regression (PLSR) models for the prediction of WBSF and cook loss achieved an R2CV of 0.75 with RMSECV of 6.82 N and an R2CV of 0.77 with RMSECV of 0.97%w/w respectively. For the prediction of intramuscular fat, moisture and crude protein content, R2CV values were 0.85, 0.91 and 0.70 with RMSECV of 0.52%w/w, 0.39%w/w and 0.38%w/w respectively. An R2CV of 0.79 was achieved for the prediction of both total collagen and hydroxyproline content, while for collagen solubility the R2CV was 0.88. All samples (100%) from 15- and 19-month old bulls were correctly classified using PLS discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), while 86.7% of samples from different muscles (longissimus thoracis, semitendinosus and gluteus medius) were correctly classified. In general, PLSR models using Raman spectra on the 3rd day post-mortem had better prediction performance than those on the 7th and 14th days. Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics have potential to assess several beef physical and chemical quality traits

Effect of storage, food processing and novel extraction technologies on onions flavonoid content: A review

peer-reviewedOnions play an important part in the daily diet for most populations around the world owing to their nutritional composition and their unique capacity to naturally flavor dishes. Onions contain quercetin and its derivatives - the predominant flavonoid in onions that exert a great contribution to the effective bioactive properties of onion, including its derived products. The present paper comprehensively reviewed flavonoids (with a specific focus on quercetin in onions): their chemical composition, distribution, bioactivities in onion, and impacting factors with a focus on how they can be affected by various post-harvest conditions (storage and food processing). In addition, research on the extraction of flavonoid compounds from onions using a number of novel technologies was also reviewed

Performances of full cross-validation partial least squares regression models developed using Raman spectral data for the prediction of bull beef sensory attributes

peer-reviewedThe data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Application of Raman spectroscopy and chemometric techniques to assess sensory characteristics of young dairy bull beef” [1]. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed on Raman spectral data pre-treated using Savitzky Golay (S.G.) derivation (with 2nd or 5th order polynomial baseline correction) and results of sensory analysis on bull beef samples (n = 72). Models developed using selected Raman shift ranges (i.e. 250–3380 cm−1, 900–1800 cm−1 and 1300–2800 cm−1) were explored. The best model performance for each sensory attributes prediction was obtained using models developed on Raman spectral data of 1300–2800 cm−1

Interplay between residual protease activity in commercial lactases and the subsequent digestibility of β-casein in a model system

One of the conventional ways to produce lactose-hydrolyzed (LH) milk is via the addition of commercial lactases into heat-treated milk in which lactose is hydrolyzed throughout storage. This post-hydrolysis method can induce proteolysis in milk proteins due to protease impurities remaining in commercial lactase preparations. In this work, the interplay between lactose hydrolysis, proteolysis, and glycation was studied in a model system of purified β-casein (β-CN), lactose, and lactases using peptidomic methods. With a lactase presence, the proteolysis of β-CN was found to be increased during storage. The protease side-activities mainly acted on the hydrophobic C-terminus of β-CN at Ala, Pro, Ile, Phe, Leu, Lys, Gln, and Tyr positions, resulting in the formation of peptides, some of which were N-terminal glycated or potentially bitter. The proteolysis in β-CN incubated with a lactase was shown to act as a kind of “pre-digestion”, thus increasing the subsequent in vitro digestibility of β-CN and drastically changing the peptide profiles of the in vitro digests. This model study provides a better understanding of how the residual proteases in commercial lactase preparations affect the quality and nutritional aspects of β-CN itself and could be related to its behavior in LH milk

Possibilities for developing texture-modified beef steaks suitable for older consumers using fruit-derived proteolytic enzymes

Meat intakes in the older population are commonly reduced because the relatively tough texture of meat can impair mastication. Fruit-derived proteolytic enzymes have been reported to have beneficial effects on tenderness, by causing significant degradation of myofibrillar proteins and collagen. Three treatments including: papain, bromelain and a 50:50 mixture of papain/bromelain, alongside one control were applied to beef M. semitendinosus steaks. Effects on Warner - Bratzler shear force, texture parameters, color, and cook loss were determined. Both enzymatic treatments that included papain significantly reduced WBSF values (P<0.05) and increased cook loss. Beef steaks tenderized with papain and papain/bromelain offer potential for inclusion in older consumers' diets, but improvement in tenderization may be associated with a reduction in processing yield

Microencapsulation to improve the stability of natural pigments and their applications for meat products

In recent years, natural pigments have been widely used in meat products (pork/beef patties, sausages, etc.) to maintain color, and as an antioxidant and antibacterial to extend the shelf life of meat products. To date, the food pigment industry has developed rapidly. Natural pigments are more popular among consumers because of their color and physiological functions such as bacteriostatic and antioxidant activity. However, compared with synthetic pigments, some natural pigments have poor stability and water solubility, which limit their application in the food industry. Therefore, taking certain methods to improve their stability and water solubility can expand the scope of use of the pigments and achieve favourable economic benefits. In this paper, we briefly analyze the main factors affecting the stability of natural pigments and summarize the methods commonly used to improve them. The methods mainly include the use of antioxidants and encapsulation of the pigments through spray/freeze drying, complex coacervation, ionic gelation, supercritical anti-solvent, etc. Finally, this paper also outlines the use of stabilized and non-stabilized pigments in meat products so as to serve as a baseline for use in meat and meat products

Changes of the Microbiota Composition on the Surface of Pig Carcasses during Chilling and Its Associations with Alterations in Chiller’s Temperature and Air Humidity

In this study, we investigated changes of microbiota composition on the surface of pig carcasses during chilling and their associations with temporal and spatial changes of wind speed, air temperature, and air humidity. The composition of microbiota on a carcass surface varied greatly with sampling sites; in particular, the surfaces of forelegs and neck had higher load of microorganisms and different microbiota composition compared to in the air and other carcass parts. However, such a difference in the microbiota composition decreased as chilling time extended. The positive detection ratios of microbial genes resistant to sulfonamides, quinolones, tetracyclines, and β-lactams were found different greatly with chilling time and sampling sites. The β-lactam and tetracycline resistant genes were observed in higher ratios in airborne microorganisms in the chiller, while the sulfa and tetracycline resistant genes had higher ratios in the microbiota on pig carcasses. Actual measurements and dynamic simulation showed that air temperature and humidity varied greatly among different places in a chiller within the first 8 h of chilling, with higher values close to the door, but the differences became smaller afterwards. The micro-environmental differences and changes in the chiller may cause the different composition of microbiota on pig carcasses

Application of Electronic Nose for Rapid Detection of Off-flavour of Raw Pork

A method for the rapid identification of off-flavoured raw pork was investigated in this study as the off-flavoured raw pork often found in slaughtering and quarantine and brought the economic loss to the pork industry. The electronic nose (e-nose) was used to analyse the volatile compounds of normal and off-flavoured pork from two cuts (plum and hind legs) and principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF) were combined to identify and classify the pork samples. It was also verified by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS). The results showed that the PCA, LDA and RF models could effectively differentiate off-flavoured pork from normal pork by using e-nose detection. The test set of hind leg meat showed better classification accuracy than plum meat, which were 91% and 81% respectively. W1S, W5C, W3C, W1C and W2W were the key sensors in the e-nose detection. A total of 50 odour substances were detected by HS-GC-IMS, including 11 ketones, 10 aldehydes, 8 esters, 5 acids, 6 alcohols, 9 other substances (including sulphur and nitrogen containing substances) and 1 uncharacterised substance. Methyl acetate, 2-butanone, 2-hexanone, n-propanol, ethyl isovalerate, and 2-pentylfuran were identified as volatile markers to distinguish between normal and off-flavoured pork screened by using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The results of the e-nose and HS-GC-IMS measurements were in good agreement, confirming that the e-nose technique could be used for identification and discrimination of off-flavoured raw pork, which would provide a technical reference for the rapid identification of off-flavoured raw pork