Results 2022

Abstract - Digestibility trials need a viable rumen fluid as inoculum to degrade feeds. The variability of rumen fluid depends on the animal’s diet, while its viability is great-ly influenced by the sampling and handling procedures. In this article we present a replicable protocol for sampling the rumen fluid from slaughtered animals for in vitro digestibility trials. A detailed list of the tools and a step-by-step standardized procedure for the collection, storage and the transportation of the rumen fluid from the slaughter-house to the laboratory is presented. We also describe a digestibility trial for establish-ing the maximum storage time of rumen fluid from sampling to its use. The results show that the rumen fluid, collected and maintained according to the proposed protocol, can be stored and used from 30 to 300 min from sampling without significantly compromising the fermentative activity of the microbial population.

Abstract - The quality of a forage influences the production of animals, and it can be defined in many ways. Laboratory analyses are important tools because they can be used to indicate the quality of the forages, and they represent a relatively quick way of defining their nutritive values. However, specific quality indexes are necessary to evaluate and rank forages. The quality of conventional forages is predicted by different indexes, according to whether they are legumes or grasses. However, no indications are given about what formulae should be used for unusual forages. In the present study, laboratory analyses have been conducted on three unusual crops belonging to three different botanical families (amaranth, borage, and camelina) at four growth stages, and conventional quality indexes have been calculated and applied to establish their quality. The obtained results have shown that the nutritive value of the unusual forages modified during the growth, although they always maintained a high quality. Hence, the Relative Feed Value of unusual forages can be measured using the ADF content or digestibility value. The Relative Forage Quality, calculated with the legume formulas, seems more appropriate for the considered unusual forages as it was able to reveal any changes that took place during maturity.

Abstract - In this study, the EtOH method has been applied to twenty Friesian bulls, twelve of which were experimentally administered with dexamethasone for 60 days and slaughtered 26 days after treatment cessation. Considering a full UV-Vis-NIR range (350 ÷ 2500 nm), a perfect discrimination was reached. The results of the validated discriminations, which overall showed an average 20% of errors, testified perfect features from the longissimus thoracis muscle, 10% from the skin, 20% from the semitendinosus muscle, fat, and dermis and 30% from the sternomandibularis muscle and thymus. When multiple chained tests were used on different tissues, the compound probability of obtaining all false negative responses or all false positive responses decreased dramatically. Minor errors were observed for the UV-Visible range. It may be concluded that the use of EtOH tissues, coupled with vibrational spectroscopy and multiple tissue tests, can display somatic modifications induced because of an illegal growth promoter treatment.

Abstract - Consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing meat products with low food additives content or even without the, since these kind of foodstuffs are perceived as more natural and healthier. Nitrites are the most commonly used additives in the meat industry to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria, keep red color (secondary effect on myoglobin = iron and oxygen-­ binding), and improve flavor. In this scenario, meat processors are challenged to produce nitrite-­ free products guaranteeing the microbial quality and sensory characteristics. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of various natural extracts against the color of thermal processed beef, manufactured without nitrites. A total of fourteen natural alternatives have been evaluated: capsicum extract liquid phase (capsanthin), paprika oleoresin liquid phase, monascus yellow powder (Monascus purpureus), red yeast rice powder (Monascus purpureus) from three different producers, lycopene powder, red beet juice powder (Beta vulgaris), rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis), capsicum extract powder (capsanthin), carmine pigment powder (cochineal extract), sorghum red pigment powder (Sorghum bicolor), and two factory-­ supplied recipes. For the first trial, extracts were added at a concentration of 0.3% in canned meat without nitrite. Samples were analyzed by colorimetric measurements before and after sterilization. The aim was to find natural extracts that provide similar color characteristics as canned meat with nitrite (used as reference). After color analysis, the extracts that did not show statistically significant differences (p > .05) from the positive control were chosen for the second trial, consisted of sample preparation at three different concentrations of extract (0,1%, 0,2%, and 0,3%) following factory manufacture procedures to ensure that the results were as accurate as possible. Results showed that sorghum red pigment powder (Sorghum bicolor) provides stable pigments and can be added as a natural additive to the manufacture of traditional canned meat recipe to maintain a similar red/pink color as same as provided by sodium nitrite.

Conclusions - The research and development in the field of meat analogues based on vegetable proteins focuses on the production of sustainable products that recreate conventional meat in its nutritional and physical aspects (texture, appearance, taste, etc.) [4]. At the same time, innovative alternatives must maintain the same level of hygiene and safety for the consumer as the traditional products. Results obtained in this study demonstrate that plant-based burgers can have the same shelf-life as classic burgers or in some cases even a longer one. These data are of considerable importance for producers who intend to develop and invest in this sector.

Conclusions - TPA is normally performed on the sample in its original structure but given the objective difficulty in handling some types of burgers, TPA was applied to the raw homogenized product. Those results suggest the usefulness of TPA parameters to distinguish burgers of different compositions also on the homogenized sample and application on the cooked product is under consideration.

Conclusions - The CSFC instrumental parameter could help researchers and the food industry to better estimate juiciness in improving the quality of meat and plant-based products. These latter are currently in high demand in the market and are not yet able to emulate meat products. The obtained results are very promising, and studies are underway to correlate directly with sensory parameters.

Conclusions - FAs profile of PBBs was different from the meat and between each other dependently on the ingredients and the type of oil added. As perspectives, it would be better to improve the ω3/ω6 ratio which is recommended to be around 5 for the human.

Conclusions - This is the first study in which the juiciness of meat and TVP burgers is compared through a mechanical method. As the main goal of the world market is to obtain plant-based products increasingly like the meat, it’s necessary making a more in-depth comparison between TVP and meat burgers through the validation the juiciness mechanical method. Therefore, the integration of further parameters will be the aim of future studies.

Conclusions - An instrumental protocol for measuring water dynamics and other parameters in meat and plant-based burgers has been developed, not only to reduce the cost and time of analysis, but even more to increase the correlation between different parameters by reducing the variability due to the use of multiple samples. Among parameters, the specific fluid content, and the TPA, seem to give interesting indications about the behavior of the fluid content. NIR was added with the intent of creating a large calibration database, to replace many of the current parameters with a simple NIR measurement, reducing even more cost and time for analysis.

Conclusions - This is the first study in which enzymatic method utilized in pig digestibility studies adapted to Ankom DaisyII Instrument was used to analyze food, allowing to compare the digestibility of plant-based and meat burgers. This method has proven to be advantageous in terms of time and laboriousness. The results obtained were very promising, and plant-based burgers showed higher digestibility than meat burgers. Further studies are needed to confirm and extend these results in view of a more sustainable consumption of protein foods.

In a new product design phase with the aim of emulating already well-known products, e.g., meat burgers, NIR spectroscopy could be a useful tool that could increase the productivity of this phase of innovation and research with extremely low cost and short time. The obtained results are very promising, and studies are underway to increase the database of spectra and product types.