Micro- and Macroalgae in Meat Products.

Technology in the meat industry is advancing to create healthier and more sustainable food. Incorporating micro- and macroalgae into meat products presents an exciting possibility for the meat sector to develop functional food, given that they serve as excellent natural sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. This review aims to systematically outline the impact of incorporating whole algae and their extracts into various meat products, examining their effects on quality, physicochemical and functional properties, sensory characteristics, and potential for enhancing shelf life. Adding algae to meat products generally increased pH values, with variations influenced by concentration, type, initial pH, and storage time. The protein content was mainly unaffected, except for Nori and Chlorella. Algae contributed to lower moisture and higher ash content due to dietary fiber. While including algae improved water-holding capacity and decreased cooking loss, it often led to increased hardness and chewiness. Algae and their extracts influenced color attributes, with variations based on the algae type. Sensory properties were distinctively affected, generally reducing overall acceptability, although Sea tangle at concentrations of 1-3% showed acceptable scores. Chlorella and Sea tangle positively impacted microbiology during refrigerated storage, while algae and their extracts demonstrated strong antioxidant activity.

Biosecurity and Lairage Time versus Pork Meat Quality Traits in a Farm-Abattoir Continuum.

The modern pig production chain is increasingly focused on biosecurity, quality, and safety of meat and is associated with many challenges impacting world meat markets, such as animal disease outbreaks and sanitary restrictions, trade regulations and quality requirements. To overcome such challenges and assure more consistent pork meat quality (and safety), there is a need to develop an effective and reliable monitoring system in a farm-abattoir continuum that can be based on selected biomarkers. This study assessed interrelations of selected stress and inflammation biomarkers (acute phase proteins (APP)) between farm biosecurity score versus pork meat quality traits after two different lairage periods. Briefly, the maximum recorded levels of stress hormones (436.2 and 241.2 ng/mL, for cortisol and Chromogranin A (CgA), respectively) and APP (389.4 and 400.9 µg/mL, Pig Major Acute Proteins (MAP) and Haptoglobin (Hp), respectively) at four commercial farms were within the recommended threshold values. Cortisol and APP were negatively correlated to the internal and total biosecurity scores of farms. The increase of level of both sets of biomarkers was found at bleeding (after transportation and lairage period), but with lower values after long (18-20 h) versus short (1-3 h) lairage lay-over time. In general, negative correlation was confirmed between stress and inflammation biomarkers and carcass/meat quality traits. The farm total biosecurity level significantly affected chilling yield, meat temperature, and a* value. Pig-MAP emerged as a good biomarker with a promising potential for assessment and anticipation of broad aspects in the pork meat chain. It can be used for detection of failures in the pig production system and might be incorporated in certification programs for the pork meat industry.