A uniform system for the classification of pig and bovine carcasses has been used in the member states of the European Union (EU) since the 1980s. Besides the grading of carcasses in accordance with the prescribed scale, this system also aims at specifying the reference presentations of carcasses for individual species including corrective factors for … [Read more…]
Meat and meat products are an important segment of the food chain for the majority of consumers in the Czech Republic. One of the main tasks of laboratory testing in this area is the safety of food and the raw materials used in its production. The aim is to protect the health of consumers from … [Read more…]
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a non-destructive and non-invasive analytical chemical technique that is also increasingly used in food chemistry. The method allows specification of a broad group of components in foodstuffs characterised by a simple or complex form of matrix, as in meat and meat products. While NMR studies on fresh meat are … [Read more…]
This study focused on the evaluation of morphometric histological changes in the muscles of chicken carcasses before and after two types of cold treatment. Air-spray chilling and the IQF (individual quick freezing) method were used. The diameter of the muscle fibres in breast and thigh muscles was measured. A statistically highly significant increase (P < … [Read more…]
The aim of this study was to monitor physicochemical changes in the meat (thigh, back and shoulder) of hunted free-living rabbits and farmed rabbits during the process of post mortem aging. We monitored the concentration of lactic acid, the pH value and the amount of malondialdehyde as a secondary product of fat decomposition changes. The … [Read more…]
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of genotype on the growth, basic characteristics of carcass value and chemical composition of the Quadriceps femoris muscle in lambs reared under organic farming conditions. The experimental animals were 24 single male crossbred lambs. Three different genotypes of Suffolk-sired crossbreds were included in the experiment: … [Read more…]
The aim was to determine total protein, pure protein, non-collagen muscle protein, dry matter and moisture (water) in pork meat using Fourier transform near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FT-NIRS). The spectra of samples (n = 54) were measured on an integrating sphere in the reflectance mode with a compression cell in a range of 10 000 to … [Read more…]
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of steer breeds on carcass quality traits and selected indicators of nutritional quality (dry matter content, intramuscular fat content, protein content, ash content and meat colour parameters). A total of 27 steers were included in the experiment – 10 purebred Czech Fleckvieh (C) steers, 8 … [Read more…]
Hormonally active substances (e.g. anabolic steroids) and residues of pharmaceutical drugs prohibited from use in food-producing animals (e.g. chloramphenicol or metronidazole) are monitored in biological matrices (tissues, urine, blood plasma) as part of regular official tests for the presence of banned substances in animals intended for food production. Any such residua found in farm animals … [Read more…]
The goal of this study was to analyse the effect of the natural antioxidant epicatechin (E) and the mycotoxin patulin (P) on the content of minerals in the meat of rabbits. Adult female rabbits (n = 25) were randomly divided into 5 groups: control group C and experimental groups E1, E2, E3 and E4. Patulin … [Read more…]
This paper investigates the use of the DART ionisation technique for meat freshness evaluation. Top round beef steak was cut into 50 g chunks and packed in a modified atmosphere. Five different extraction reagents were used for the extraction of low-molecule substances. The extracts were subsequently measured using the DART technique in combination with TOF-MS … [Read more…]
The basic characteristics of meat include its colour, water holding capacity and tenderness. These properties are influenced by the chemical composition of the meat (muscle), the proportions of different types of muscle fibres, the physical and chemical condition of the muscle, and the integrity of the internal structures of muscle fibres. The most important variables … [Read more…]
The meat industry uses vegetable proteins as meat substitutes to reduce the price of its products. Some vegetable proteins, however, have allergenic effects. Efforts are therefore being made to replace such allergenic proteins with other vegetable proteins that are not classified as allergens by the legislation. The most commonly used include pea protein, though this … [Read more…]