La production de viande de chameau : état des connaissances, situation actuelle et perspectives

Camel meat is a product regularly consumed in arid countries and it is one of the rare products from this species being subject to a regional export market, even international, if the meat from Australian wild camel is included although a poorly evaluated part of this market is out of the official sector. The main exporting countries are located in the Horn of Africa and the Sahelian area whereas the importing countries are the Gulf States and North Africa. Meat productivity in the camel is rather low although the dressing percentages approach those of cattle, especially in animals coming from the more intensive production systems. However, there is a tradition of pastoral fattening having good results. Camel meat is rather close to beef as well in its total chemical composition as in its gustatory characteristics and nutritive value. However, because of fat concentration in the hump, camel muscles give relatively low-fat meat and are particularly low in cholesterol, which can make a good commercial argument.La viande de chameau est un produit régulièrement consommé dans les pays arides et c’est un des rares produits de cette espèce faisant l’objet d’un marché d’export régional, voire international si on inclut la viande de chameaux « marrons » d’Australie, bien qu’une part mal évaluée de ce marché se situe dans le secteur informel. Les principaux pays exportateurs se situent dans la Corne de l’Afrique et dans la région sahélienne alors que les pays importateurs sont surtout les pays du Golfe et d’Afrique du Nord. La productivité en viande chez le chameau est plutôt faible bien que les rendements carcasse se rapprochent de ceux des bovins, surtout chez les animaux provenant des systèmes de production plus intensifs. Il existe toutefois une tradition d’embouche cameline pastorale obtenant de bons résultats. La viande de chameau est assez proche de la viande de boeuf tant dans sa composition chimique globale que dans ses particularités gustatives et sa valeur nutritionnelle. Toutefois, du fait de la concentration du gras dans la bosse, la viande de chameau apparaît relativement maigre et particulièrement pauvre en cholestérol, ce qui peut en faire un argument commercial certain

Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes and Potential Acceptance toward Artificial Meat

The interest for artificial meat has recently expanded. However, from the literature, perception of artificial meat in China is not well known. A survey was thus carried out to investigate Chinese attitudes toward artificial meat. The answers of 4666 respondents concluded that 19.9% and 9.6% of them were definitely willing and unwilling to try artificial meat respectively, whereas 47.2% were not willing to eat it regularly, and 87.2% were willing to pay less for it compared to conventional meat. Finally, 52.9% of them will accept artificial meat as an alternative to conventional meat. Emotional resistance such as the perception of “absurdity or disgusting” would lead to no willingness to eat artificial meat regularly. The main concerns were related to safety and unnaturalness, but less to ethical and environmental issues as in Western countries. Nearly half of the respondents would like artificial meat to be safe, tasty, and nutritional. Whereas these expectations have low effects on willingness to try, they may induce consumers’ rejection to eat artificial meat regularly, underlying the weak relationship between wishes to try and to eat regularly. Thus, potential acceptance of artificial meat in China depends on Chinese catering culture, perception of food and traditional philosophy

Specific fibre composition and metabolism of the rectus abdominis muscle of bovine Charolais cattle

Background: An important variability of contractile and metabolic properties between muscles has been highlighted. In the literature, the majority of studies on beef sensorial quality concerns M. longissimus thoracis. M. rectus abdominis (RA) is easy to sample without huge carcass depreciation and may appear as an alternative to M. longissimus thoracis for fast and routine physicochemical analysis. It was considered interesting to assess the muscle fibres of M. rectus abdominis in comparison with M. longissimus thoracis (LT) and M. triceps brachii (TB) on the basis of metabolic and contractile properties, area and myosin heavy chain isoforms (MyHC) proportions. Immunohistochemical, histochemical, histological and enzymological techniques were used. This research concerned two populations of Charolais cattle: RA was compared to TB in a population of 19 steers while RA was compared to LT in a population of 153 heifers. Results: RA muscle had higher mean fibre areas (3350 μm2 vs 2142 to 2639 μm2) than the two other muscles. In RA muscle, the slow-oxidative fibres were the largest (3957 μm2) and the fast-glycolytic the smallest (2868 μm2). The reverse was observed in TB muscle (1725 and 2436 μm2 respectively). In RA muscle, the distinction between fast-oxidative-glycolytic and fast-glycolytic fibres appeared difficult or impossible to establish, unlike in the other muscles. Consequently the classification based on ATPase and SDH activities seemed inappropriate, since the FOG fibres presented rather low SDH activity in this muscle in comparison to the other muscles of the carcass. RA muscle had a higher proportion of I fibres than TB and LT muscles, balanced by a lower proportion either of IIX fibres (in comparison to TB muscle) or of IIA fibres (in comparison to LT muscle). However, both oxidative and glycolytic enzyme activities were lower in RA than in TB muscle, although the LDH/ICDH ratio was higher in RA muscle (522 vs 340). Oxidative enzyme activities were higher in RA than in LT muscle, whereas glycolytic enzyme activity was lower. In RA muscle, contractile and metabolic properties appeared to be less well-correlated than in the two other muscles. Conclusions: RA muscle has some particularities in comparison to the LT and TB muscles, especially concerning the unusual large cross-section surface of SO fibres and the very low oxidative activity of intermediate IIA fibres

Unusual metabolic characteristics in skeletal muscles of transgenic rabbits for human lipoprotein lipase

BACKGROUND: The lipoprotein lipase (LPL) hydrolyses circulating triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins. Thereby, LPL acts as a metabolic gate-keeper for fatty acids partitioning between adipose tissue for storage and skeletal muscle primarily for energy use. Transgenic mice that markedly over-express LPL exclusively in muscle, show increases not only in LPL activity, but also in oxidative enzyme activities and in number of mitochondria, together with an impaired glucose tolerance. However, the role of LPL in intracellular nutrient pathways remains uncertain. To examine differences in muscle nutrient uptake and fatty acid oxidative pattern, transgenic rabbits harboring a DNA fragment of the human LPL gene (hLPL) and their wild-type littermates were compared for two muscles of different metabolic type, and for perirenal fat. RESULTS: Analyses of skeletal muscles and adipose tissue showed the expression of the hLPL DNA fragment in tissues of the hLPL group only. Unexpectedly, the activity level of LPL in both tissues was similar in the two groups. Nevertheless, mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rate, measured ex vivo using [1-(14)C]oleate as substrate, was lower in hLPL rabbits than in wild-type rabbits for the two muscles under study. Both insulin-sensitive glucose transporter GLUT4 and muscle fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) contents were higher in hLPL rabbits than in wild-type littermates for the pure oxidative semimembranosus proprius muscle, but differences between groups did not reach significance when considering the fast-twitch glycolytic longissimus muscle. Variations in both glucose uptake potential, intra-cytoplasmic binding of fatty acids, and lipid oxidation rate observed in hLPL rabbits compared with their wild-type littermates, were not followed by any modifications in tissue lipid content, body fat, and plasma levels in energy-yielding metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of intracellular binding proteins for both fatty acids and glucose, and their following oxidation rates in skeletal muscles of hLPL rabbits were not fully consistent with the physiology rules. The modifications observed in muscle metabolic properties might not be directly associated with any LPL-linked pathways, but resulted likely of transgene random insertion into rabbit organism close to any regulatory genes. Our findings enlighten the risks for undesirable phenotypic modifications in micro-injected animals and difficulties of biotechnology in mammals larger than mice

Faits marquants de la production bovine en Australie

Australia has developed for about 20 years the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading scheme to predict beef eating quality and hence better satisfy beef consumers. More than 3.1 million cattle were processed through MSA pathways in 2017-18. The cattle presented for MSA grading accounted for 43% of the national adult cattle slaughter and 94.3% of cattle presented for grading met MSA minimum requirements. The Meat Livestock Australia has also developed the MSA index, which indicates an eating quality potential at the whole carcass level. Since 2011, the average MSA Index has increased by roughly 1.5% from 2010-11 to 2016-17 to reach 57.78 in 2017-18. More than 5,000 meat producers became registered to supply livestock through the MSAprogram, and the average price differential between MSA and non-MSA carcasses from young cattle across all weight ranges (excluding accredited grainfed cattle) was $0.21/kg (and$0.13/kg for cattle that met grainfed accreditation standards). Thus, in the last year, it is estimated that the MSA program delivered an additional AUD$152 million in farm gate returns for beef producers in Australia.L’Australie a déployé depuis environ 20 ans le système de classement « Meat Standards Australia (MSA) » pour prédire la qualité en bouche de la viande bovine afin de mieux satisfaire les consommateurs de viande. Plus de 3,1 millions de bovins ont été labellisés MSA en 2017-18, ce qui représente environ 43$ / kg (et de 0,13 $ / kg pour les bovins alimentés avec des concentrés). Ainsi, au cours de la dernière année, on estime que le programme MSA a généré une plus-value de 152 millions de dollars australiens pour les producteurs de viande bovine australienne

La viande du futur sera-t-elle produite in vitro ?

La production de viande artificielle par culture de cellules est proposée par certains scientifiques comme une des solutions pour répondre aux grands enjeux de l’élevage : i) réduire le mal-être supposé des animaux dans les élevages modernes, voire ne pas tuer les animaux pour les manger, ii) réduire la possible dégradation de l’environnement par l’élevage et iii) réduire la faim dans le monde en augmentant le niveau des ressources protéiques alimentaires. La viande artificielle supprimerait en effet le mal-être supposé des animaux lié à l’élevage et permettrait de ne pas abattre les animaux pour les manger. L’impact environnemental de la viande artificielle est difficile à évaluer en l’absence de données sur le fonctionnement d’une usine de production. La viande artificielle présenterait toutefois un intérêt modéré pour réduire les gaz à effet de serre et la pollution par les nitrates, un intérêt limité quant à l’utilisation des énergies fossiles, voire très limité pour limiter les besoins en eau, mais elle libérerait des terres cultivables. Elle entraînerait probablement dans l’eau des résidus de molécules de synthèse. De nombreux experts estiment que les causes de la malnutrition actuelle de certaines populations sont multiples et ne sont pas directement liées à un manque de ressources alimentaires. Bien que la culture de cellules soit couramment pratiquée en laboratoire, il existe des verrous techniques importants à lever pour une production à grande échelle, tels que le coût rédhibitoire des technologies actuelles et le manque de ressemblance du produit obtenu à de la viande issue d’animaux. Sur le plan nutritionnel, la viande artificielle ne présente pas d’avantage particulier par rapport à un autre aliment élaboré à partir de l’ensemble des nutriments nécessaires à sa production. Les critères d’acceptabilité de la viande artificielle renvoient, d’une part, à des questions d’ordre moral ou éthique concernant la technologie et les inquiétudes qu’elle soulève, et d’autre part, à des considérations classiques relatives aux produits alimentaires (prix, qualité, naturalité...). Par le passé, les expériences de substitution des protéines animales par des produits analogues ont échoué en raison, notamment, de contraintes économiques, du temps nécessaire pour l’éventuelle acceptation des produits par les consommateurs et pour la délivrance des autorisations de mise sur le marché. Face aux questionnements importants concernant l’élevage, la production de viande artificielle ne présente pas aujourd’hui d’avantages majeurs par comparaison à la viande naturelle ou à d’autres alternatives possibles telles que rééquilibrer notre alimentation en diversifiant les sources de protéines végétales et animales, ou encore développer des systèmes d’élevage plus respectueux des animaux et de l’environnement

Brazilian Consumers’ Attitudes towards So-Called “Cell-Based Meat”

The main goal of this online survey was to investigate the attitudes of Brazilians towards “cell-based meat”, which has become the subject of great scientific and media enthusiasm. The answers of 4471 respondents concluded that 46.6% of them thought “cell-based meat” was promising and acceptable. More than 66% would be willing to try this novel product compared to 23% who expressed reluctance to do so. Nearly 40% of the total respondents did not want to eat “cell-based meat” regularly at all, whereas 29%, 43.2%, and 39.9% were willing to eat it regularly in restaurants, at home, and/or in ready-made meals, respectively. However, the majority of respondents (71%) were keen to pay much less for “cell-based meat” than conventionally produced meat (or even nothing at all), compared to 24.3% who were willing to pay the same price as conventional meat, whereas only 4.8% were willing to pay more. Approximately 51% of them considered that “cell-based meat” should not be called “meat” for marketing purposes. Job, monthly income, age, and gender were major factors impacting consumer acceptance. Meat professionals and consumers with higher incomes were less willing to eat “cell-based meat” regularly. Women (especially younger women) were the most concerned about the ethical and environmental issues related to meat production and were the most convinced that reducing meat consumption could be a good solution to the meat industry’s problems. Respondents who did not accept “cell-based meat” and did not eat meat substitutes had a negative attitude to this novel food (they considered it absurd and/or disgusting) and did not believe that “cell-based meat” should be called “meat” for marketing purposes. In contrast, the people who thought that “cell-based meat” could be called “meat” perceived it in a rather positive way. These results are important for consumers of meat and meat substitutes and for companies aiming to enter the potential future Brazilian market of “cell-based meat”

Current situation and future prospects for beef production in Europe — A review

Publication history: Accepted - 26 April 2018; Published online - 24 May 2018.The European Union (EU) is the world’s third largest producer of beef. This contributes to the economy, rural development, social life, culture and gastronomy of Europe. The diversity of breeds, animal types (cows, bulls, steers, heifers) and farming systems (intensive, extensive on permanent or temporary pastures, mixed, breeders, feeders, etc) is a strength, and a weakness as the industry is often fragmented and poorly connected. There are also societal concerns regarding animal welfare and environmental issues, despite some positive environmental impacts of farming systems. The EU is amongst the most efficient for beef production as demonstrated by a relative low production of greenhouse gases. Due to regional differences in terms of climate, pasture availability, livestock practices and farms characteristics, productivity and incomes of beef producers vary widely across regions, being among the lowest of the agricultural systems. The beef industry is facing unprecedented challenges related to animal welfare, environmental impact, origin, authenticity, nutritional benefits and eating quality of beef. These may affect the whole industry, especially its farmers. It is therefore essential to bring the beef industry together to spread best practice and better exploit research to maintain and develop an economically viable and sustainable beef industry. Meeting consumers’ expectations may be achieved by a better prediction of beef palatability using a modelling approach, such as in Australia. There is a need for accurate information and dissemination on the benefits and issues of beef for human health and for environmental impact. A better objective description of goods and services derived from livestock farming is also required. Putting into practice “agroecology” and organic farming principles are other potential avenues for the future. Different future scenarios can be written depending on the major driving forces, notably meat consumption, climate change, environmental policies and future organization of the supply chain