International comparisons, domestic influences and where to next? The case of Irish meat consumption.

Meat consumption internationally is driven by many common factors. While this broadly results in similar temporal trends, diversity in how these factors play out locally is evident. Drawing on secondary data sources, this paper illustrates this by comparing Irish meat consumption with other geographies.

The Use of Potassium Chloride and Tapioca Starch to Enhance the Flavour and Texture of Phosphate- and Sodium-Reduced Low Fat Breakfast Sausages Manufactured Using High Pressure-Treated Meat.

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of potassium chloride (KCl) and tapioca starch (TS) to reduce salt levels below 1.5% in sausages manufactured using previously high pressure (HP) processed pork (150 MPa). A 3 × 2 × 1 factorial design was used to formulate breakfast sausages with three salt levels (0.

Dark-cutting beef: A brief review and an integromics meta-analysis at the proteome level to decipher the underlying pathways.

Comprehensive characterization of the post-mortem muscle proteome defines a fundamental goal in meat proteomics. During the last decade, proteomics tools have been applied in the field of foodomics to help decipher factors underpinning meat quality variations and to enlighten us, through data-driven methods, on the underlying mechanisms leading to meat quality defects such as dark-cutting meat known also as dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat. In cattle, several proteomics studies have focused on the extent to which changes in the post-mortem muscle proteome relate to dark-cutting beef development.

The Extent and Rate of the Appearance of the Major 110 and 30 kDa Proteolytic Fragments during Post-Mortem Aging of Beef Depend on the Glycolysing Rate of the Muscle and Aging Time: An LC-MS/MS Approach to Decipher Their Proteome and Associated Pathways.

Post-mortem (p-m) muscle undergoes a myriad of complex physical and biochemical changes prior to its conversion to meat, which are influential on proteolysis and hence tenderization. A more in-depth understanding of the mechanisms underpinning these dynamics is a key to consistently providing tender beef. Using an LC-MS/MS approach, with state-of-art mass spectrometry Q Exactive HF-X, the proteome and associated pathways contributing to the appearance of the proteolytic breakdown products appearing over 14 days p-m, at two important molecular weights (110 and 30 kDa) on 1D SDS-PAGE gels, have been investigated in beef muscles exhibiting four rates of pH decline differentiated on the basis of time at pH 6 (fast glycolysing, <3 h; medium, 3-5 h; slow, 5-8 h; and very slow, 8+ h).

Molecular signatures of beef tenderness: Underlying mechanisms based on integromics of protein biomarkers from multi-platform proteomics studies.

Over the last two decades, proteomics have been employed to decipher the underlying factors contributing to variation in the quality of muscle foods, including beef tenderness. One such approach is the application of high-throughput protein analytical platforms in the identification of meat quality biomarkers. To broaden our understanding about the biological mechanisms underpinning meat tenderization across a large number of studies, an integromics study was performed to review the current status of protein biomarker discovery targeting beef tenderness.

European conformation and fat scores of bovine carcasses are not good indicators of marbling.

Marbling is one of the primary carcass attributes utilized in most beef grading systems for eating quality evaluation. In Europe, the current beef grading system is the EUROP grid, which is focused on carcass commercial value and production yield rather than eating quality estimation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between marbling and the most common scores for carcass classification in Europe.

Contributions of tenderness, juiciness and flavor liking to overall liking of beef in Europe.

This study evaluated the contributions of sensory traits to overall liking in Europe. Perceptions by untrained consumers of tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking and overall liking were determined using the Meat Standards Australia protocols. According to European consumer testing with European beef samples, flavor liking was the most important contributor (39%) to beef overall liking, followed by tenderness (31%) and juiciness (24%) (P < .

Health Implications of Beef Intramuscular Fat Consumption.

Despite several issues in relation to human health, beef is still a most popular meat product among large section of society due to the presence of high quality protein and other nutrients. The current paper reviews numerous studies that provide nutritional profiles and health implications of high marbled beef consumption. In relation to lipid content of beef, intramuscular fat contains high level of PUFA and MUFA compared to other beef fat.

Sustainable and consumer-friendly emerging technologies for application within the meat industry: An overview.

New and emerging robust technologies can play an important role in ensuring a more resilient meat value chain and satisfying consumer demands and needs. This paper outlines various novel thermal and non-thermal technologies which have shown potential for meat processing applications. A number of process analytical techniques which have shown potential for rapid, real-time assessment of meat quality are also discussed.

Meat consumption: trends and quality matters.

This paper uses quality theory to identify opportunities for the meat sector that are consistent with trends in meat consumption. Meat consumption has increased and is likely to continue into the future. Growth is largely driven by white meats, with poultry in particular of increasing importance globally.

The application of high-pressure treatment in the reduction of salt levels in reduced-phosphate breakfast sausages.

This study investigated the effects of high pressure (HP) treatment of pork meat before manufacturing sausages with reduced salt levels and compared them to sausages manufactured with untreated meat (control sausages). A 2×5 factorial design was set up incorporating two pressure levels (0 or 150 MPa) and five salt levels (0.5, 1.

The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics, and the fatty acid profile of muscle from yearling bulls.

The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics and the fatty acid profile of muscle were studied. Samples from 16 yearling bulls from "Asturiana de los Valles" (AV, n=12) and "Asturiana de la Montaña" (AM, n=4) were collected. AV animals were classified into three groups according to the presence of the gene causing double-muscling (AV double-muscled (mh/mh), n=4; AV heterozygous (mh/+), n=4; AV normal (+/+), n=4).

Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA.

In 1996, we measured concentrations of arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in blood of adult king (Somateria spectabilis) and spectacled (Somateria fischeri) eiders and duckling spectacled eiders from northern Alaska, USA. Concentrations of selenium exceeded background levels in all adults sampled and 9 of 12 ducklings. Mercury was detected in all adult spectacled eiders and 5 of 12 ducklings.

A skeletal muscle troponin T specific ELISA based on the use of an antibody against the soluble troponin T (16-31) fragment.

Proteolytic degradation of muscle, which occurs post-mortem as part of the meat-ageing process, results in the production of protein fragments. In beef, degradation of skeletal muscle troponin T (TnT) results in the generation of a 16-residue long peptide (TnT (16-31)), identified in trichloroacetic acid (TCA) soluble extracts. We report the development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantification of TnT (16-31), using polyclonal antibodies raised against synthetic TnT (16-31).