Meat and Human Health-Current Knowledge and Research Gaps.

Meat is highly nutritious and contributes with several essential nutrients which are difficult to obtain in the right amounts from other food sources. Industrially processed meat contains preservatives including salts, possibly exerting negative effects on health. During maturation, some processed meat products develop a specific microbiota, forming probiotic metabolites with physiological and biological effects yet unidentified, while the concentration of nutrients also increases. Meat is a source of saturated fatty acids, and current WHO nutrition recommendations advise limiting saturated fat to less than ten percent of total energy consumption. Recent meta-analyses of both observational and randomized controlled trials do not support any effect of saturated fat on cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The current evidence regarding the effect of meat consumption on health is potentially confounded, and there is a need for sufficiently powered high-quality trials assessing the health effects of meat consumption. Future studies should include biomarkers of meat intake, identify metabolic pathways and include detailed study of fermented and other processed meats and their potential of increasing nutrient availability and metabolic effects of compounds.

Changes in the Quality of Chicken Breast Meat due to Superchilling and Temperature Fluctuations during Storage.

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in chicken breast meat quality (water-holding capacity, color, texture, myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), total protein solubility, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total viable count (TVC), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count) due to storage under superchilling conditions (-1.3°C) and fluctuating temperatures (ranging from -20°C to -5°C) as compared to the quality of meat stored at chilled (2-4°C) and frozen (-20°C) temperatures, respectively. Results indicated that the TVC and LAB count of the chilled and superchilled breast meat increased with storage time. TVC of the chilled and superchilled breast meat reached the safety level of 7 log cfu/g at approximately day 8 and18, respectively. This suggested that the superchilling method extended the storage duration by 10 days. Weight loss and TBARS of the chilled and superchilled samples tended to increase with increasing storage time. The color, texture, protein solubility, and MFI were stable throughout the entire storage period of the chilled (9 days) and superchilled (28 days) samples. Results indicated that while three cycles of storage temperature fluctuation influenced the weight loss and dry matter of the meat, they did not affect the TVC, LAB count, texture, color, pH, MFI, and protein solubility. The superchilling technique (-1.3°C) could extend the shelf-life of meat and maintain the quality of chicken breast meat. Fluctuations in temperature during frozen storage decreased the water-holding capacity of chicken breast meat, indicating that temperature stability should be maintained during frozen storage.