Recent strategies for improving the quality of meat products.

Processed meat products play a vital role in our daily dietary intake due to their rich protein content and the inherent convenience they offer. However, they often contain synthetic additives and ingredients that may pose health risks when taken excessively. This review explores strategies to improve meat product quality, focusing on three key approaches: substituting synthetic additives, reducing the ingredients potentially harmful when overconsumed like salt and animal fat, and boosting nutritional value. To replace synthetic additives, natural sources like celery and beet powders, as well as atmospheric cold plasma treatment, have been considered. However, for phosphates, the use of organic alternatives is limited due to the low phosphate content in natural substances. Thus, dietary fiber has been used to replicate phosphate functions by enhancing water retention and emulsion stability in meat products. Reducing the excessive salt and animal fat has garnered attention. Plant polysaccharides interact with water, fat, and proteins, improving gel formation and water retention, and enabling the development of low-salt and low-fat products. Replacing saturated fats with vegetable oils is also an option, but it requires techniques like Pickering emulsion or encapsulation to maintain product quality. These strategies aim to reduce or replace synthetic additives and ingredients that can potentially harm health. Dietary fiber offers numerous health benefits, including gut health improvement, calorie reduction, and blood glucose and lipid level regulation. Natural plant extracts not only enhance oxidative stability but also reduce potential carcinogens as antioxidants. Controlling protein and lipid bioavailability is also considered, especially for specific consumer groups like infants, the elderly, and individuals engaged in physical training with dietary management. Future research should explore the full potential of dietary fiber, encompassing synthetic additive substitution, salt and animal fat reduction, and nutritional enhancement. Additionally, optimal sources and dosages of polysaccharides should be determined, considering their distinct properties in interactions with water, proteins, and fats. This holistic approach holds promise for improving meat product quality with minimal processing.

Physiochemical properties of reduced-fat duck meat emulsion systems: effects of preemulsification with vegetable oils and duck skin.

The effects of commercial vegetable oils and duck skin on quality characteristics of a reduced-fat duck meat emulsion were examined. The cooking loss, emulsion stability, and hardness were lower for emulsions preemulsified with vegetable oils and duck skin (P < 0.05) than for the control. Storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″) of reduced-fat duck meat emulsions treated with corn, grape seed, soy, and olive oils were similar to the values of control; the highest G' and G″ values were reported for the reduced-fat duck meat emulsion treated with coconut oil. Myofibril protein solubility was the highest for the reduced-fat duck meat emulsion treated with coconut oil and duck skin (P < 0.05). Replacing of pork back fat with different vegetable oils for emulsification may impart superior quality to reduced-fat duck meat emulsion. We recommend preemulsion with vegetable oils and duck skin to enhance the quality characteristics of reduced-fat duck meat emulsion.

Effects of replacing pork fat with grape seed oil and gelatine/alginate for meat emulsions.

The effects of using grape seed oil in combination with gelatine and alginate on the physicochemical characteristics of meat emulsions were examined. Four different meat emulsions were manufactured and half the conventional fat was substituted with pre-emulsified grape seed oil with gelatine and/or alginate: T1, only grape seed oil; T2, grape seed oil and gelatine; T3, grape seed oil and alginate, T4, grape seed oil, gelatine, and alginate. Meat emulsion containing only pork back fat was compared as control. Results revealed that T4 was moister, lighter, more viscous, and stable in emulsion than control and value of ash contents of T4 was higher than those of control. Moreover, the value of fat content, pH, firmness, chewiness, toughness, and lipid oxidation of the T4 meat emulsion were lower than those of control. The meat emulsions with emulsified grape seed oil were more principally elastic than viscous and appearent viscosity was the highest in T4. In conclusion, instead of using each ingredient alone, pre-emulsified grape seed oil, gelatine, and alginate can replace partial pork fat with in meat emulsion formulations results in optimized meat processing properties.

Increase in nitrite content and functionality of ethanolic extracts of Perilla frutescens following treatment with atmospheric pressure plasma.

This study investigated the effect of atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment on nitrite content and functionality of plant extracts. Ethanolic extracts of Perilla frutescens (EEP) were prepared and treated with APP for 60min. Nitrite content increased from 0 to 45.8mg/l in EEP after APP treatment for 60min. Antimicrobial activity of EEP against Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella Typhimurium was increased by APP with no influence on antioxidative activity (p<0.05). Lyophilized EEP (LEEP) treated with APP for 60min contained 3.74mg/g nitrite. The control (LEEP without APP) contained no nitrite. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of LEEP for C. perfringens was 200µg/ml. The control did not inhibit C. perfringens growth between 25 and 1000µg/ml. MICs of LEEP and the control against S. Typhimurium were 25 and 50µg/ml, respectively. New nitrite sources with increased antimicrobial activity can be produced from natural plants by APP treatment.

The effect of dietary α-lipoic acid, betaine, l-carnitine, and swimming on the obesity of mice induced by a high-fat diet.

We evaluate the effect of supplementation, at 300 mg kg(-1) body weight (BW), with the antioxidants α-lipoic acid (AL), betaine (BT), l-carnitine (LC), and the combination of these and exercise on obesity induced by a 9 week high-fat diet (HFD) in mice. Healthy 5 week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into 9 groups: (1) CON, control group fed with a commercial mice chow containing 10% crude fat; (2) HFD, high fat diet group fed with a commercial mice chow containing 60% crude fat; (3) HFD-AL, HFD group fed with AL; (4) HFD-BT, HFD group fed with BT; (5) HFD-LC, HFD group fed with LC; (6) HFD-SW, HFD with swimming as an exercise; (7) HFD-SWAL, HFD-AL with swimming; (8) HFD-SWBT, HFD-BT with swimming, and (9) HFD-SWLC, HFD-LC with swimming. The BW of mice with LC and swimming reduced the increase of BW after 9 weeks. Relative adipose tissue weights were reduced by the combinations of antioxidant supplementation and swimming. Levels of serum glucose and leptin were reduced in the HFD-SWLC group when compared with the HFD group. Serum triglyceride and total cholesterol and the size of adipose were also decreased in the HFD-LC and HFD-SWLC groups. These results show that LC at a dose of 300 mg kg(-1) BW was the most effective for reducing fat accumulation in mice with HFD for 9 weeks. In addition, exercise should be given in combination to enhance the BW reduction and serum lipid level.

Comparison of quality traits of meat from korean native chickens and broilers used in two different traditional korean cuisines.

With the aim of investigating the differences in the quality traits between Korean native chicken (Hanhyup, KNC) and broilers commonly used in two different traditional Korean cuisines, the chemical composition and sensory properties of breast and thigh meat from the two chicken strains were assessed. KNC for baeksuk (chicken meat braised in soup with various Oriental medicinal plants; KNL), KNC for samgyetang (similar to baeksuk but young chickens and ginseng are used; KNS), broiler for baeksuk (BL), and broiler for samgyetang (BS) were used as treatments in this study. KNL and KNS contained higher protein but lower fat content than BL and BS. The L* values of breast and thigh meat, but not the a* values, were significantly different between KNS and BS, whereas significant differences in both values were observed between KNL and BL. Compared to the other three types of chickens, KNS contained the highest total and insoluble collagen content, and KNL and BL showed higher inosine-5'-monophosphate content in their meat. Overall, KNL and KNS contributed darker, less tender meat with higher protein and less fat content together with more n-3 fatty acids, as opposed to their counterparts used for the same cuisines. Based on the results of the sensory analysis, even though there are some differences in physiochemical traits, different chicken sources do not differ in overall sensory quality. This information can help consumers to understand better the meat available for their preferred traditional cuisines.

Effect of dietary mixture of gallic acid and linoleic acid on antioxidative potential and quality of breast meat from broilers.

The effect of dietary mixture of gallic acid and linoleic acid (MGL) on the antioxidative potential and quality of breast meat from broilers was investigated. Broilers during the 22-36days on trial received 3 dietary treatments: 1) control (commercial finisher diet), 2) 0.5% MGL (gallic acid:linoleic acid=1M:1M), and 3) 1.0% MGL. The feed efficiency, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS(+) reducing activity, reducing power, TBARS, and total phenolic content in the breast from the broilers improved significantly by 1.0% MGL dietary treatment. Arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids were higher in the broilers fed both levels of MGL diets. In addition, water holding capacity of the breast was enhanced by the 1.0% dietary MGL treatment and was accompanied by a slight antimicrobial activity (1 decimal reduction) during storage. In conclusion, 1.0% dietary supplementation with MGL can improve the antioxidative potential, and nutritional and functional qualities of broiler breast meat.