Tenderness – An enzymatic view Kemp, Caroline M.; Sensky, Paul L.; Bardsley, Ronald G. ...
Meat science,
02/2010, Volume:
84, Issue:
2
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
One of the most common causes of unacceptability in meat quality is toughness. Toughness is attributed to a range of factors including the amount of intramuscular connective tissue, intramuscular ...fat, and the length of the sarcomere. However, it is apparent that the extent of proteolysis of key proteins within muscle fibres is significant determinant of ultimate tenderness. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the main endogenous proteolytic enzyme systems that have the potential to be involved in muscle post-mortem proteolysis and whether the experimental evidence available supports this involvement.
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•Consumption of fatty meats may increase risks of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.•Production of red meats increases greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions contributing to the global ...warming.•Consumption of wild meats can pose some serious risks of transmission of viruses from animals to humans.
Meat consumption has been increasing since the 1960s, but especially from the 1980s decade to today. Although meat means an important source of nutrients, it is also evident that a great consumption of this source of proteins has also a negative environmental impact. Livestock production does not only have a negative influence on GHG emissions, but also on the water footprint, water pollution, and water scarcity. With respect to human health, in 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stated that red meat was a probable carcinogen to humans (Group 2A), while consumption of processed meat was carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). Most environmental contaminants (PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs, PCNs, etc.) that are frequently found in meats are highly soluble in fats. Therefore, avoiding ingesting fats from red meats and meat products, doubtless would help in the prevention, not only of the well-known cardiovascular diseases derived of fats consumption, but also of certain kinds of cancers, mainly colorectal cancer. On the other hand, consumption of meat – especially wild meat – is related to virus infections, as many viruses have been found in wild meat trade markets. Based on the scientific literature here reviewed, we have noted that the results of the investigations conducted after the statement of the IARC, have corroborated the recommendation of reducing significantly the consumption of red meats and meat products. In turn, the reduction of meat consumption should contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions and their considerable impact on global warming and climate change. It seems evident that human dietary habits regarding meat consumption in general, and red meats and wild meats in particular, should be significantly modified downward, as much and as soon as possible.
The impact of Chernobyl on the .sup.137Cs activities found in wild boars in Europe, even in remote locations from the NPP, has been much greater than the impact of Fukushima on boars in Japan. ...Although there is great variability within the .sup.137Cs concentrations throughout the wild boar populations, some boars in southern Germany in recent years exhibit higher activity concentrations (up to 10,000 Bq/kg and higher) than the highest .sup.137Cs levels found in boars in the governmental food monitoring campaign (7900 Bq/kg) in Fukushima prefecture in Japan. The levels of radiocesium in boar appear to be more persistent than would be indicated by the constantly decreasing .sup.137Cs inventory observed in the soil which points to a food source that is highly retentive to .sup.137Cs contamination or to other radioecological anomalies that are not yet fully understood.
The two most frequently reported zoonotic diseases in humans in the EU in 2005 were
Campylobacter and
Salmonella infections with incidences of 51.6 and 38.2 cases per 100,000 population, ...respectively. Reported human infections caused by
Yersinia spp., Verocytotoxigenic
Escherichia coli, and
Listeria monocytogenes had comparably lower incidences of 2.6, 1.2 and 0.3 cases per 100,000 population, respectively. Meat and meat products are important sources for these infections but knowledge on exactly how important they are compared with other types of food, drinking water and environmental exposure is quite limited. Occurrences of zoonotic pathogens in raw meat are variable, although most often are between 1% and 10%, depending on the organism, geographical factors, farming and/or meat production practices, etc.
Zoonotic pathogens in meat have to be controlled through a complete, continuous farm-to-fork system. It is of utmost importance to control faecal contamination of carcasses through efficient HACCP-based process hygiene management systems.
► CRCs (carnosine, anserine, homocarnosine) and pentosidine were quantified by HPLC/MS. ► Total CRCs content increased in beef<rabbit<pork<horse<chicken<turkey meat. ► We elucidate homocarnosine ...structure by high resolving power multistage MS. ► Pentosidine is above the instrumental determination limits in all meat samples. ► Meat lipid oxidation decreased in beef>turkey>rabbit>horse>pork>chicken meat.
The aim of this research was to determine the content of the histidinic antioxidants, advanced glycation end products (pentosidine) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in the meat from different animal species. Carnosine, anserine, homocarnosine and pentosidine were quantified by HPLC/MS, while TBARS was determined by photometric measurements. The total CRCs (carnosine+anserine+homocarnosine) content was in the increasing order: beef<rabbit<pork<horse<chicken<turkey. The analysis showed traces of pentosidine above the instrumental determination limits in all the meat samples, while the susceptibility of these meat to lipid oxidation decreased from beef to chicken, with the exception of turkey meat, which presented a high TBARS content towards even though its total CRCs was the highest. The structure of homocarnosine was elucidated by high resolving power multistage mass spectrometry.
Plant-based meat alternatives are developed to address consumer demands and sustainability of future food supply, and the market has grown exponentially in recent years. Although progresses have been ...made to construct plant protein-based fibers organoleptically comparable to a whole-muscle cut, it remains challenging to reproduce the hierarchical organization of muscle tissue known to contribute to the overall sensory profile. For now, the market strategies are largely focused on restructured or formed meat mimeticks.
Literature search and supermarket surveys are conducted to identify processing technologies, product formulations, and the chemistry and functionality of various additives applied in meat alternatives production. Comparisons are made between muscle and legume proteins to elucidate disparities in macroscopic aggregation properties that may be greatly diminished through fabrication and ingredient innovation. Due to the highly formulated and processed nature, the nutrition, health, and safety of plant-based meat alternatives are analyzed.
Thermoextrusion is found to be the principal reconstructuring technique for meat-like fiber synthesis from plant proteins. Soy and pea proteins, gluten, and polysaccharides are the major building blocks. Through physicochemical interactions, plant proteins are able to aggregate into particles and anisotropic fibrils to impart meat-like texture and mouthfeel. Vegetable oil blends and spices are used to modify the texture and flavor; pigments are added to impart color; vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and antimicrobials are incorporated to boost nutrition and improve shelf-life. Opportunities exist to overcome technology obstacles and nutrition and safety challenges in further developing the alternatives market.
•The plant-based meat alternative market expands rapidly to meet consumer demands.•Legume (soy, pea, and others) proteins are the main building blocks of meat analogues.•Technological barriers, product quality, safety, and cost remain significant hurdles.•Protein functionality and chemical roles of various additives are analyzed.•Plant-based meatless products are a diet option, not to replace regular meat.
Meat and meat products are an important part of the human diet. Even though non-essential, they provide high amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals in a concentrated form. However, the ...consumption of meat and meat products has been associated with an increased risk of health-related problems. Once the harmful components of meat and meat products are elucidated, novel technologies can help in identifying, removing, replacing, and/or minimising their deleterious effects. In addition, meat products can be and are being utilised as carriers of added bioactive compounds due to their processing versatility and high worldwide consumption. New strategies in the field of meat and meat product development are certainly needed in order to overcome not only the health-related problems these products might contribute to, but also from the sustainability and economy perspective. This book compiles ten original studies and two comprehensive reviews that will tackle some of these issues.
Broiler production at mass level has already been achieved and now emphasis is being laid on increasing meat quality by altering various characteristics of broiler meat. Appearance, texture, ...juiciness, wateriness, firmness, tenderness, odor and flavor are the most important and perceptible meat features that influence the initial and final quality judgment by consumers before and after purchasing a meat product. The quantifiable properties of meat such as water holding capacity, shear force, drip loss, cook loss, pH, shelf life, collagen content, protein solubility, cohesiveness, and fat binding capacity are indispensable for processors involved in the manufacture of value added meat products. Nutrition of birds has a significant impact on poultry meat quality and safety. It is well known that dietary fatty acid profiles are reflected in tissue fatty acid. Management of poultry meat production is reflected mostly on consumption features (juiciness, tenderness, flavour) of meat. After slaughter, biochemical changes, causing the conversion of muscle to meat, determine final meat quality. Postmortem carcass temperature has profound effect on rigor mortis and the physicochemical changes observed in PSE muscles are attributed to postmortem glycolysis, temperature, and pH. Primary processing and further processing have become a matter of concern with respect to nutritional quality of broiler meat. Genetic variation among birds could contribute to large differences in the rate of rigor mortis completion and meat quality. Heritability estimates for meat quality traits in broilers are amazingly high (0.35–0.81), making genetic selection a best tool for improvement of broiler meat quality.
Meat quality is a prerequisite to the consumer's acceptability and industrial profitability. Post-translational modifications, changes in myofibrillar protein degradation and myoglobin oxidation have ...a great impact on meat quality during post-mortem aging of muscle. Applying proteomics to search for protein biomarkers to accurately assess meat quality is a new strategy to ensure high-quality meat.
The current progress of using proteomics to identify potential protein biomarkers of meat quality traits during post-mortem aging of muscles has been reviewed in this paper. The advantages and disadvantages of different methods of protein separation, identification and quantitative analysis are summarized. Some potential protein biomarkers of meat quality traits belonging to different biological pathways involved in muscle contraction, metabolism, heat stress, oxidation, proteolysis and apoptosis are debated. Recently, biomarkers have been used to characterize meat tenderness, color and water-holding capacity to better understand the biological processes and pathways occurring in post-mortem muscles, and their detailed molecular mechanisms are discussed in this review.
Post-mortem aging of muscle is a complex process that involves physical and biochemical changes at the cellular level. Clarifying the changes and mechanisms of muscle-to-meat conversion is of great significance in identifying protein markers for assessing meat quality. Previous studies of the biomarkers linked to meat tenderness, color and water-holding capacity are summarized. We found that some great challenges still exist in characterizing and predicting the accuracy, stability and industrial application of meat quality biomarkers. Based on these studies, future research about biomarkers of meat quality traits are proposed to tackle these challenges and to assess the meat quality more accurately. Therefore, applying proteomics as an emerging technology can be helpful to ensure high-quality meat and provide economic benefits for the meat industry.
•Proteomics identified protein biomarkers of meat quality traits are reviewed.•The merits and demerits of biomarkers identifying tools are discussed.•The mechanisms of some potential protein biomarkers that characterize meat quality traits are elaborated.•Current problems are presented and future research directions are suggested.
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