Effect of fat score on the quality of various meat products.

In the larger Swiss abattoirs the fat score (FS) is determined by default as an indicator of fat quality. The FS refers to the iodine number and is related to the degree of unsaturation of the outer layer of backfat. In a feeding trial with Large White gilts, the FS was determined in 47 carcasses. Meat and fat tissues were prepared for the production of salami (SAL), raw-cured bacon (RCB), pork hamburger (PHB) and Vienna sausage (VIS). In the different meat products, the FS was closely related to the percentage of saturated (SFA: r=-0.49 to -0.79) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, r=0.36 to 0.79) for RCB, SAL and PHB (p⩽0.05), but not for VIS. For RCB, significant correlations with FS were seen for the meat:fat-ratio (r=0.39), fat firmness (r=-0.31) and one fat oxidation marker (1-octen-3-ol: r=0.51). The texture (r=-0.60), a(w)-value (r=0.63) and one fat oxidation marker (1-octen-3-ol: r=0.46) were significantly correlated with FS in SAL. On the whole, only a few variables correlated significantly with FS for SAL and RCB and the corresponding relationships were always linear. No significant correlation between FS and any of the technological and sensorial parameters were found for VIS or PHB.

Is authentication of the geographic origin of poultry meat and dried beef improved by combining multiple trace element and oxygen isotope analysis?

Data available on contents of up to 72 different trace elements and the oxygen isotope ratio of 78 poultry breast and 74 dried beef samples were analysed to determine whether the accuracy of the prediction of the geographic origin is improved by combining promising methods. Validation was performed by determining the origin of a smaller sub-group using a statistical model established from the data of the second, larger, sub-group. As expected, the combined data proved useful for the determination of the geographic origin of meat samples. However, combining data did not clearly reduce the percentage of incorrectly classified individual samples compared to the two approaches applied separately. In poultry, cross-validation and validation resulted in 83% and 50% correct classifications, respectively. The corresponding values in dried beef were 73% and 43%. In conclusion, compared to element signature data alone, combining both methods did not improve predictions of origin.

Determination of Vitamin B12 in meat products by RP-HPLC after enrichment and purification on an immunoaffinity column.

A quantitative method for the determination of Vitamin B12 in meat products by RP-HPLC and UV detection was developed and compared to the reference method (microbiological assay, MBA). Vitamin B12 was extracted with 50mM sodium acetate buffer in the presence of sodium cyanide. For the quantification of total Vitamin B12, it was necessary to release protein-bound Vitamin B12 by pepsin treatment. Cyanocobalamin was detected as total Vitamin B12 after purification and enrichment on an immunoaffinity column. The calibration with five concentrations of Vitamin B12 was linear with a regression coefficient r2>0.99. The method was validated at three different concentration levels (5-15 ng/g) with salami showing good recovery rates between 80 and 108% and low relative standard deviations between 1.50 and 7.26% (n = 6). The detection limit was found to be 2 ng/g. The Vitamin B12 levels of 50 meat products measured by the developed procedure were similar or significantly lower than those determined by the MBA.