Consumer perception of the challenges facing livestock production and meat consumption.

With the global meat market growing and intensive livestock farming systems increasing, the impacts of livestock are a growing concern among consumers, further influencing their meat consumption. Understanding consumer perceptions of livestock production is therefore a key issue. This study surveyed 16,803 respondents in France, Brazil, China, Cameroon and South Africa to investigate the different perceptions of the ethical and environmental impacts of livestock production among consumer segments in different countries based on their sociodemographic characteristics. On average, the current respondents in Brazil and China and/or who consume little meat, are female, not in the meat sector and/or more educated, are more likely to think that livestock meat production causes serious ethical and environmental problems; while those in China, France and Cameroon and/or who consume little meat and/or are women, younger, not in the meat sector, and/or more educated, are more likely to agree that reducing meat consumption could be a good solution to these problems. Additionally, an affordable price and sensory quality are the main drivers of food purchases for the current respondents. In conclusion, sociodemographic factors have significant effects on consumer perception of livestock meat production and meat consumption habits. Perceptions of the challenges facing livestock meat production differ between countries in different geographic regions based on social, economic, cultural contexts and dietary habits.

Brazilian Consumers' Attitudes towards So-Called "Cell-Based Meat".

The main goal of this online survey was to investigate the attitudes of Brazilians towards "cell-based meat", which has become the subject of great scientific and media enthusiasm. The answers of 4471 respondents concluded that 46.6% of them thought "cell-based meat" was promising and acceptable. More than 66% would be willing to try this novel product compared to 23% who expressed reluctance to do so. Nearly 40% of the total respondents did not want to eat "cell-based meat" regularly at all, whereas 29%, 43.2%, and 39.9% were willing to eat it regularly in restaurants, at home, and/or in ready-made meals, respectively. However, the majority of respondents (71%) were keen to pay much less for "cell-based meat" than conventionally produced meat (or even nothing at all), compared to 24.3% who were willing to pay the same price as conventional meat, whereas only 4.8% were willing to pay more. Approximately 51% of them considered that "cell-based meat" should not be called "meat" for marketing purposes. Job, monthly income, age, and gender were major factors impacting consumer acceptance. Meat professionals and consumers with higher incomes were less willing to eat "cell-based meat" regularly. Women (especially younger women) were the most concerned about the ethical and environmental issues related to meat production and were the most convinced that reducing meat consumption could be a good solution to the meat industry's problems. Respondents who did not accept "cell-based meat" and did not eat meat substitutes had a negative attitude to this novel food (they considered it absurd and/or disgusting) and did not believe that "cell-based meat" should be called "meat" for marketing purposes. In contrast, the people who thought that "cell-based meat" could be called "meat" perceived it in a rather positive way. These results are important for consumers of meat and meat substitutes and for companies aiming to enter the potential future Brazilian market of "cell-based meat".

Profile of Producers and Production of Dry-Aged Beef in Brazil.

No information is currently available on the profile of producers and production process of dry-aged beef in Brazil, to the best of the authors' knowledge. We surveyed 37 Brazilian companies that were producing dry-aged beef in 2020 to investigate this market. The absolute and relative frequency of responses was calculated to obtain the sum, average, minimum, and maximum values. From the respondents, dry-aged beef was first produced in 2009, and most producers are located in big cities. Most respondents control and monitor chamber temperature; however, humidity and air velocity only are monitored. The aging period (mostly between 22 to 60 days) was the main indicator of product readiness. The process losses (water loss and crust trimming) can reach 65%. Some producers perform microbiological analyses to ensure product safety and others use tools such as GMP and SOP. The results of this survey may help governmental institutions to develop a standardized industrial protocol for producing dry-aged beef in Brazil.

Meat Quality of Nellore Young Bulls-Effects of Different Days on Feed and Zilpaterol Hydrochloride Supplementation.

Ninety-six Nellore young bulls were fed (90 or 117 day) diets containing ZH (8.33 mg/kg) for 0, 20, 30, or 40 days to evaluate the effects of days on feed (DOF) and length of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) supplementation on meat quality. At the end of feeding period, animals were slaughtered, and samples of the Longissimus muscle were collected to evaluate the chemical composition, fatty acid profile, color stability, shear force, and sensory profile. DOF did not affect chemical composition, shear force, sensory tenderness, and most of fatty acids; however, animals fed for 90 d had lower redness (p < 0.01), sustained juiciness (p < 0.01), and more flavor (p = 0.03) than those fed for 117 d. The ZH supplementation decreased lipid content and redness (p < 0.01), initial and sustained tenderness (p < 0.01), initial and sustained juiciness (p < 0.01), but increased protein (p < 0.01) and shear force (p < 0.01) as compared to non-supplemented animals. The ZH supplementation increased total PUFA, c9,c12-18:2, and 20:4-n6, and decreased c9-20:1 (p < 0.05). Feeding ZH impairs meat quality attributes of Nellore young bulls, regardless of duration of supplementation, while DOF has a small effect on meat quality properties.

Interaction between papain and transglutaminase enzymes on the textural softening of burgers.

The present study investigated the effect of the enzymes papain (0.2%) and microbial transglutaminase (MTG) (1%) on the texture properties of beef and chicken burgers to develop a meat product with significant increase in softness due to the physiological limitations of the elderly. The products were characterized for pH, objective color, water activity, texture profile analysis (TPA), shear force, compression test, electrophoretic profile, cooking loss, and diameter reduction. A pronounced increase in softness was observed for both raw materials containing papain. An increase in shear force was observed for the beef burger containing only MTG, while the chicken burger showed a reduction of this parameter. The compression tests showed papain alone or combined with MTG decreased the hardness of the burgers. The results showed that the combination of the enzymes papain and MTG can be an effective strategy to develop beef and chicken burgers much softer, contributing to the future studies focused on the physiological needs of the elderly.

The effects of time and relative humidity on dry-aged beef: Traditional versus special bag.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of relative humidity (RH) and different dry aging methods on the quality of beef. Sixteen loins, from eight carcasses, were used in this experiment. Each pair of loin was cut into eight sections with equal size, which were evenly assigned to eight treatments, by the combination of two dry aging methods (traditional and highly moisture-permeable special bag), two relative humidity (65 and 85% RH) and two aging times (21 and 42 days). At 85% RH, neither special bag nor the traditional dry aging methods were viable, since samples presented high microbiological counts, mucus and bad odor. At 65% RH, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria were not detected in any treatment. The highest aerobic plate count and psychrotrophic count were observed in the samples of the traditional dry-aged process whereas the special bag showed the greatest mold and yeast count. Regarding dry aging in special bag, there was a reduction in the weight loss (P < 0.05) and no change in the physical-chemical characteristics (P > 0.05) compared to traditional dry aging. The values of pH, moisture and Warner-Bratzler shear force were not affected (P > 0.05) by aging method and relative humidity. Thus, the results indicate that high RH should be avoided for both dry aging methods. Furthermore, the special bag dry aging can be considered an alternative to produce dry-aged beef, as it reduces weight losses even at conditions of lower relative humidity.

Effects of freezing and thawing on microbiological and physical-chemical properties of dry-aged beef.

This study evaluated the effects of freezing, prior to and after dry aging, on the microbiological and physical-chemical quality of beef. Strip loins (n = 24) from 12 carcasses were assigned to four treatments: non-frozen dry aging (Dry); dry aging, steak fabrication, freezing and slow thawing (Dry + ST); freezing, fast thawing (FT; 20 °C/15 h) and dry aging (FT + Dry); freezing, slow thawing (ST; 4 °C/48 h) and dry aging (ST + Dry). Freezing conditions were - 20 °C/28 days and dry aging conditions were 2 °C/70% relative humidity, for 28 days. Freezing prior to dry aging did not affect the microbial counts compared to Dry. However, FT + Dry and ST + Dry increased (16%) total process loss (P < .05) compared to Dry and Dry+ST. Moreover, freezing changed volatile compounds profile. Thus, freezing prior to dry aging was not a feasible process due to increased process loss, while freezing after dry aging was considered a viable alternative to preserve the steaks without compromising beef physical-chemical traits.

Effect of different dry aging temperatures on Listeria innocua as surrogate for Listeria monocytogenes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different dry aging temperatures on the behavior of Listeria innocua used as a surrogate of L. monocytogenes. The process was performed in boneless loin pieces for up to 42 days at 2 and 8 °C. The behavior of L. innocua was influenced by the temperature, aging time, and the water activity of the beef surface (P < .05). After 42 days, reductions of 2.38 and 3.37 log cfu/g were obtained on the beef surface aged at 2 and 8 °C, respectively. According to data predicted by the Weibull model, the samples aged at 2 °C would achieve a 4-log reduction with twice the time required for the process at 8 °C. After trimming, 66.7% of the samples aged at 2 °C were positive for L. innocua, whereas at 8 °C the rate was 33.3%. Therefore, the results showed that the increase of process time and temperature as well by decrease of the aw reduces L. innocua counts.

Maturação seca e úmida da carne bovina e seus efeitos na qualidade sensorial e microbiológica

O perfil do consumidor brasileiro se tornou mais exigente em relação à qualidade da carne. Entre os atributos que fazem parte dessa definição, as características de palatabilidade são de suma importância para a avaliação do consumidor e podem ser melhoradas por meio da maturação. Essa técnica consiste em armazenar a carne em câmaras frias, sob condições controladas de temperatura, umidade relativa e velocidade do ar, por um período de tempo, a fim de que enzimas endógenas promovam mudanças em sua estrutura. Os métodos de maturação seca e úmida podem interferir diferentemente em muitos atributos. Em razão disso, esta revisão bibliográfica objetivou comparar esses dois processos, frente a alguns dos parâmetros de palatabilidade, como maciez, sabor e aroma da carne bovina, além da qualidade microbiológica dos produtos. Conclui-se que os processos de maturação, úmido e seco, melhoram a maciez da carne na mesma proporção, mas a maturação a seco possibilita o desenvolvimento de atributos de sabor mais desejáveis, quando comparado com a maturação úmida. Entretanto, os mecanismos responsáveis por esta melhoria ainda não são claros e precisam ser melhor investigados. De maneira geral a proliferação de micro-organismos é melhor controlada na maturação a seco, mas cuidados especiais devem ser tomados quando da etapa de toalete, remoção das superfícies ressecadas, para não haver contaminação cruzada

The Brazilian consumer's profile has become more rigorous regarding to meat quality. Among the attributes that are part of definition of quality, palatability characteristics are the main concern for consumer evaluation and may be improved by aging. This technique consists in storing the meat in cold storage under controlled conditions of temperature, relative humidity and air flow during a period of time in order to promote changes in its structure by the activity of endogenous enzymes. The dry-aging and wet-aging differ in many attributes. Therefore, this review proposes to compare those two processes regarding to some of their palatability parameters such as tenderness, flavor and aroma in beef, in addition to verify the microbiological quality of the products. It is concluded that the dry aging process is simple, but requires special care to meet desired sensory results and ensure microbiological safety

ω-3 in meat products: benefits and effects on lipid oxidative stability.

Although ω-3 intake has been associated with numerous health benefits, its addition to certain food matrices, and in particular meat products, may involve various technological barriers influencing the final quality of the products. Lipid oxidation must be highlighted due to the modification of both the sensory characteristics and the shelf-life of meat products. In order to reduce the impact of chemical changes and promote oxidative stability, the use of natural antioxidants has gained ground owing to the health and safety advantages linked to its effectiveness at reducing lipid oxidation. Many natural compounds have also been successfully tested in animal feed, in order to protect the raw meat materials and reduce the risk of lipid oxidation in processed products. This review aims to address the challenges and advantages of the incorporation of ω-3 fatty acids in raw meat materials and processed meat products, and to describe the use of different compounds to enhance lipid oxidative stability. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Moisture and fat content, marbling level and color of boneless rib cut from Nellore steers varying in maturity and fatness.

This study analyzed rib steaks (M. longissimus thoracis) of Nellore steers (n=60) for intramuscular moisture and fat content, marbling level, and visual and instrumental color. Carcass sides were classified on the kill floor according to teeth maturity (2, 4 and 6 permanent incisors), and fatness (2 - slight and 3 - average). The cranial end of the boneless cut was aged for 14 days, and frozen. Steaks of 2.5 cm thick were cut and thawed for analysis. Moisture and fat content were determined in minced lean. CIE color was measured with a MiniScan XE™, and visually evaluated by an eight-member panel, which also assessed marbling. In this type of cattle and ranges of maturity and fatness considered, increasing either maturity or fatness causes a slight reduction in moisture and an increment in lipid content. But neither maturity nor fatness seems to affect the visual perception of meat color on display.