Recovery and utilization of effluents from meat processing industries

Production of wastes during the processing of meat products is not desirable because it significantly deteriorates the quality of the final product as well as causes some serious health threats if not properly disposed-off. The majority of the waste, in the meat industry is produced during slaughtering. The composition of waste generated by the meat industry depends on species of animals slaughtered. The waste material of the meat processing industry contains plentiful amount of organic compounds due to which its disposal is quite difficult. Efficient utilization of by-products has direct impact on the economy of the country and reduce environmental pollution. Edible meat by-products are claimed to have high nutritional value as compared to the lean meat. Organ meats can be used for human consumption, animal feed production and medicinal purposes after proper treatment and processing. This article provides information regarding the waste material generated by meat processing plants, its health impacts, nutritional status of meat by-products and their utilization.     

Study on retrogradation of maize starch–flaxseed gum mixture under various storage temperatures

This study aimed to investigate the effect of flaxseed gum (FG) on the retrogradation of maize starch (MS) gels under different storage temperatures. In this work, MS‐FG gels with 0–0.4% FG were stored under different temperatures (–20, 4 and 20 °C). Under all storage temperatures, the addition of FG inhibited the retrogradation process of MS, suppressed the recrystallisation of starch molecules, reduced the water loss of starch gels and improved the texture of the gels. Among the three storage temperatures, ?20 °C could almost stop the starch retrogradation but leading it results in the hardest gel texture. The retrogradation of MS‐FG gels stored under 4 °C was most serious with the fastest rate of recrystallisation. When stored at 20 °C, the gels had a retrogradation degree that was lower than when they were stored at 4 °C and also had the softest texture.     

Correlation between instrumental stress and oral processing property of chicken broiler breast under wooden breast myopathy

Wooden breast myopathy affects the quality of fresh and processed chicken breast muscle. The objective of this study was to construct a classification method by instrumental stress, and the effects of wooden breast myopathy on meat quality and oral processing property, and was to explore correlations between stress and oral processing parameters. The severity of wooden breast myopathy was highly correlated to fillet weight (R² = 0.740), thickness (R² = 0.826) and hardness (R² = 0.803) (P < 0.01). The 3D scatter model based on stress is robust and reliable to classify the fillets into four categories (normal, mild, moderate and severe wooden breast fillets), avoiding manual grading. Moisture, fat, collagen, pH, drip loss, cooking loss, thawing loss, purge loss, hardness, gumminess and chewiness significantly increased with the severity of wooden breast myopathy, whereas fat, ash and water/salt-soluble protein contents significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Shear force reached the maximum (36.32 N) when this myopathy was moderate. The myopathy led to an increase in masseter activity and the particle size of the bolus. Significantly higher correlations between stress, Dx(50) (R² = 0.790), Dx(90) (R² = 0.771) and D[4,3] (R² = 0.797) were found (P < 0.01). This study also showed that jaw movement and muscle activity could be used to understand the links between physical property and orally sensory property.     

Chinese red pepper (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim.) leaf extract as natural antioxidants in salted silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in dorsal and ventral muscles during processing

Chinese red pepper (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim.) leaf (ZML) extract contains high amounts of phenolic compounds possessing high total antioxidant capacity and hydroxyl, 1, 1-dipheny-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity. ZML extract was investigated as a natural antioxidant for the lipid stability of salted silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) throughout salting and drying. Both dorsal and ventral muscles were examined for differences in moisture content, salt content, total lipid content, and degree of lipid oxidation. The hexanal content, Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, and lipoxygenase (LOX) activity in the ventral muscle were significantly higher than those of the dorsal muscle (p < 0.05). In the treatments with ZML extract, the hexanal content, the TBARS value, and the LOX activity were significantly lower (p < 0.05) during processing both in the dorsal and ventral muscles. The sensory qualities of processed salted fish could be improved with the amount of 0.030% extract in the dorsal muscle and 0.045% extract in the ventral muscle. These results showed that ZML extract can be a source of natural antioxidants and used as a food additive.     

KCl部分替代NaCl腌制对风干鲈鱼中生物胺的抑制作用

用不同比例的KCl部分替代NaCl腌制,在15 ℃、80%～90%相对湿度条件下风干成熟84 h得风干鲈鱼产品。通过测定产品中理化指标、挥发性盐基氮、生物胺含量以及感官品质的变化,研究KCl部分替代NaCl对风干鲈鱼中生物胺的抑制作用。风干鲈鱼产品中共检测到6种生物胺,分别为：腐胺、尸胺、组胺、酪胺、精胺、亚精胺。当KCl替代比例从0%增大到50%,产品中生物胺总含量先下降后上升。当KCl替代比例为20%时,风干鲈鱼产品中生物胺总含量达到最低值192.17 mg/kg,比对照组（KCl含量为0%）降低62.90%;同时,腐胺、尸胺、组胺含量的减少量分别为76.94%、84.68%、54.46%。感官分析结果表明,当KCl替代比例不超过40%时风干鲈鱼产品的感官品质未有明显变化。以上结果表明在保持风干鲈鱼原有感官品质的基础上,用KCl部分替代NaCl腌制可以显著抑制（P＜0.05）产品中生物胺的形成。     

压力水平及氯化钠浓度对兔肌球蛋白凝胶保水性及其胶凝过程中理化特性和结构变化的影响

以含不同浓度的氯化钠(1.0%、1.5%、2.0%)的兔骨骼肌肌球蛋白为实验对象,在不同压力水平(100、200、300 MPa)下对其进行超高压处理(9 min,25 ℃)后加热制备凝胶。以未经高压处理的含2%氯化钠的蛋白作为对照组。根据凝胶保水性、水分分布、凝胶微观结构、蛋白在升温过程中的贮能模量、表面疏水性、活性巯基含量以及二级结构等指标的变化,研究压力水平及氯化钠浓度对经高压处理的肌球蛋白加热胶凝过程中的蛋白流变特性,二三级结构以及形成的热凝胶的水分特征的影响。结果显示:含1%氯化钠的兔肉肌球蛋白经100或200 MPa高压处理后,包埋的疏水基团和巯基在40~55 ℃间快速暴露,且蛋白中的α-螺旋结构的比例也显著下降(p<0.05)。其较高的热变性速率使蛋白分子得以充分解折叠与相互作用,最终形成的热凝胶的保水性,微观结构及贮能模量均优于其他处理组,该研究结果可为利用超高压技术生产低盐功能性肉制品提供理论依据。     

Traceability technologies for farm animals and their products in China

The history of traceability reveals that nomadic herders as early as 1000 BCE marked livestock with irons and ear incisions in order to protect against thefts. Nowadays, we build traceability systems to document the origin of foods, and in order to ensure safer foods when tracking and recalling products. A holistic traceability system includes, as a minimum, identification elements, databases and an information flow. The animal identification elements refers to body marks, ear tags, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, retina image recognition, or DNA fingerprinting. The product identification refers to barcodes (EAN UCC, PLU, and GS1), 2D barcodes (QR, VC, and DM) and RFID or Electronic Product Code (EPC). The present review describes existing and upcoming traceability technologies for farm animals and their products, to update the common methods for information collection and data inquiry, with the view to expound traceability policies and regulations between developed and developing countries. The benefits of the new technologies and their practical limitations are also discussed.     

Assessing the value of wind generation in future carbon constrained electricity industries

This paper employs a novel Monte-Carlo based generation portfolio assessment tool to explore the implications of increasing wind penetration and carbon prices within future electricity generation portfolios under considerable uncertainty. This tool combines optimal generation mix techniques with Monte Carlo simulation and portfolio analysis methods to determine expected overall generation costs, associated cost uncertainty and expected CO₂ emissions for different possible generation portfolios. A case study of an electricity industry with coal, Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT) and wind generation options that faces uncertain future fossil-fuel prices, carbon pricing, electricity demand and plant construction costs is presented to illustrate some of the key issues associated with growing wind penetrations. The case study uses half-hourly demand and wind generation data from South Eastern Australia, and regional estimates of new-build plant costs and characteristics. Results suggest that although wind generation generally increases overall industry costs, it reduces associated cost uncertainties and CO₂ emissions. However, there are some cases in which wind generation can reduce the overall costs of generation portfolios. The extent to which wind penetration affects industry expected costs and uncertainties depends on the level of carbon price and the conventional technology mix in the portfolios.     

The influence of flaxseed gum on the retrogradation of maize starch

The influence of flaxseed gum (FG) on the retrogradation of maize starch (MS) was investigated in this study. Based on the results of rapid visco‐analyzer (RVA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF‐NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FG has a retardation effect on the retrogradation of MS. With the addition increasing, the more significant the retardation effect was observed (P < 0.05). However, when the concentration of FG was up to 0.4%, the change of retrogradation ratio showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). FG could wrap around starch granules, suppress the recrystallisation of amylose and amylopectin, increase the water mobility and decrease the water loss. In summary, the overall results suggested that FG could be used as a natural inhibitor of the retrogradation of starch in food industry.     

Characterisation of acid-soluble collagen from skin and bone of bigeye snapper (Priacanthus tayenus)

The compositions and some properties of acid-soluble collagens (ASC) of the skin and bone of bigeye snapper, (Priacanthus tayenus) were investigated. The collagens were extracted with the yields of 10.94% and 1.59% on the basis of wet weight, from skin and bone, respectively. Similar electrophoretic patterns of collagens from the skin and bone were observed. Both collagens comprised two different α chains, α1 and α2 and were classified as type I collagen. However, peptide maps of collagen from the skin and bone of bigeye snapper, digested by V8 protease and lysyl endopeptidase, revealed differences between collagens from skin and bone, and both were completely different from those of calf skin collagen. Collagen rehydrated in acetic acid had lower T_max and enthalpy than those rehydrated in deionised water, suggesting a conformational change caused by acid. Collagens form the skin and bone had the highest solubility at pH 2 and 5, respectively. No changes in solubility were observed in the presence of NaCl up to 3% (w/v). However, a sharp decrease in solubility was found with NaCl above 3% (w/v).