Influence of Muscle Type on Physicochemical Parameters, Lipolysis, Proteolysis, and Volatile Compounds throughout the Processing of Smoked Dry-Cured Ham.

The influence of muscle type (biceps femoris, BF and semimembranosus, SM) on physicochemical parameters, volatile compounds, and the extent of proteolysis and lipolysis during the manufacturing of smoked dry-cured ham was investigated. A total of fifty smoked hams were sampled: raw ham, after salting, smoking, drying, and ripening. Almost all physicochemical parameters were affected by muscle type, manufacturing stage and their interactions. SM had lower water, ash, NaCl content, and water activity (aw), while fat and protein content were higher after ripening compared to BF. BF showed higher L*a*b* values compared to SM. The results of texture profile analysis showed that almost all analyzed parameters were influenced by muscle type and production stage. A total of 88 volatile compounds were identified, showing an increase in its number during processing: 31 volatile compounds were identified in raw ham and 72 after the ripening phase. Aldehydes and phenols were the predominant groups of compounds, followed by alcohols, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, esters, and terpenes. Muscle type and production phase significantly affected lipid oxidation and the index of proteolysis: in SM, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) increased faster than in BF, while proteolysis had an opposite effect and was more pronounced in BF.

Proteolysis and protein oxidation throughout the smoked dry-cured ham process.

During the five stages of smoked dry-cured ham processing, proteolysis and protein oxidation were simultaneously detected in the Biceps femoris (BF) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles. Proteolysis was more advanced in BF than in SM throughout the process of production. The total FAA increased significantly (p < 0.05) throughout the processing, resulting in higher total FAA content in BF than in SM muscle. SDS-PAGE revealed progressive degradation of sarcoplasmic proteins of investigated muscles, with the pronounced changes for the 69.9-41.7 kDa region. SDS-PAGE of BF showed more intense degradation of myofibrillar proteins due to greater proteolysis in BF. Electrophoresis of myofibrillar proteins evidenced the marked degradation of 130 kDa, 96.7 kDa and 27-20.7 kDa bands in both muscles. A similar trend was observed for protein oxidation in BF and SM, with the final values of 26.36 and 23.7 nmol carbonyls/mg proteins, respectively. The Pearson correlation revealed a strong relationship between protein oxidation and proteolysis.

Characterization of Traditional Croatian Household-Produced Dry-Fermented Sausages.

Characterization of five types of traditional Croatian dry-fermented sausages produced by family farms was performed via identification of superficial mycobiota, physicochemical, sensory, instrumental color, fatty acids & fat quality indices. Detailed characterization of these sausages aimed to achieve standardization of their production and composition and to establish and/or improve their specification protocols. Traditional sausages varied significantly (p < 0.05) in all analyzed parameters except for the number of mold isolates. Sausages coming from eastern Croatia had a greater mold species diversity, with the highest number of isolated mycotoxigenic species in Slavonian domestic sausage. Sensory evaluation showed good acceptability of all sausages. According to health recommendations, Kulenova Seka showed the most representable values for most of fat quality indices. The results suggest the need for certain modifications in fat & fatty acid composition and, to a lesser extent, in salt content, however not at the expense of product safety, quality and acceptability.

Seasonal Changes in Free Amino Acid and Fatty Acid Compositions of Sardines, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792): Implications for Nutrition.

The aim of this study was to clarify the seasonal variation in the proximate composition of the free amino acid (AA) and fatty acid (FA) profiles of the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) from the Adriatic Sea and to better understand the nutritive value needed to organize more effective industrial processing, aquaculture use and to ensure the health benefits for consumers through available bioactive compounds such as omega-3 FA and essential AA. The lipid content ranged from 1.18 to 10.58% during the year, being the highest from July to September. For the first time, this paper reports the monthly variation in AA content in sardines. The highest total AA content was measured during the winter period, from January (843 mg/100 g fillet) to March (953 mg/100 g) with histidine, arginine and threonine being the most dominant. The total content of essential free AA (histidine, threonine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and lysine) ranged from 137 to 571 mg/100 g fillet (wet weight), recorded in May and March, respectively. The fatty acid profile analyses revealed the major saturated FA as palmitic (C16:0), followed by myristic (C14:0), and stearic (C18:0) acids, and the predominant monosaturated FA as oleic (C18:1n-9) and palmitoleic (C16:1n-7). The high concentrations of polyunsaturated FA in sardines were omega-3 FA, particularly eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA; 20:6n-3) FA. From July to September, their content was the highest (>3.5 g/100 g of sardine fillets), confirming that these species are excellent sources of bioactive lipids.

Biogenic amines in selected foods of animal origin obtained from the Croatian retail market.

This study aimed to investigate the presence of eight biogenic amines (BAs): tryptamine (TRP), phenylethylamine (PHE), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), histamine (HIS), tyramine (TYR), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM) in cheese, fish & fishery products and meat & meat products obtained from the Croatian retail market. A selective and robust method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD) was applied for the determination of BAs in a total of 91 samples in accordance with the performance criteria outlined in the European legislation. A high inter- and intra-food group variability of the amounts of BAs was observed. In the analysed samples, the most represented amines were TYR, HIS, CAD and PUT. Based on the highest content of the most toxic BAs (HIS and TYR) and consequential food safety concerns, the studied food groups can be ranked in the following order: cheese (HIS up to 106.4 mg/kg; TYR up to 206.6 mg/kg), fish &fishery products (HIS up to 98.8 mg/kg; TYR up to 47.9 mg/kg), and meat & meat products (HIS up to 20.0 mg/kg; TYR up to 117.5 mg/kg). The total BA content was significantly higher (p < .05) in fermented in comparison with other food. The study aimed to contribute to the knowledge on BA toxicity and food quality, as well as to support the indispensable future studies of consumption data and exposure assessment, to the end of defining allowable BA concentrations in food.

Differentiation of dry-cured hams from different processing methods by means of volatile compounds, physico-chemical and sensory analysis.

The aim of this study was to characterize dry-cured hams from four different processing methods (differences in primary leg treatment, salting and smoking phase). Volatile compounds were isolated by using headspace-solid phase microextraction and analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Samples were also evaluated by sensory and physico-chemical characteristics (moisture, protein, fat and NaCl content, aw, colour). 149 volatile compounds of dry-cured hams were identified and 15 of them were quantified. Identified volatile compounds belonged to several classes of chemical: 25 aldehydes, 18 phenols, 12 alcohols, 16 terpenes, 27 aromatic hydrocarbons, 18 aliphatic hydrocarbons, 17 ketones, 9 esters and 7 acids. Most abundant volatiles in ham samples were aldehydes (34.46-49.78%). Principal component analysis showed a good separation among groups. Smoked dry-cured hams showed a higher content of phenols, aromatic hydrocarbons, and acids and were characterized by smoky aroma, while non-smoked dry-cured hams showed higher content of terpenes, ketones, alcohols, esters, aliphatic hydrocarbons and were characterized with spicy aroma.

As, Cd, Hg and Pb in four edible shellfish species from breeding and harvesting areas along the eastern Adriatic Coast, Croatia.

Four species of shellfish (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Ostrea edulis, Chlamis varia and Venus verrucosa) were collected during the autumn 2011 and spring 2012 along the eastern Adriatic coast from six shellfish harvesting areas (all species) and 13 breeding sampling areas (mussels) to assess As, Cd, Hg and Pb levels and the human risks of shellfish consumption. The mean metal concentrations (wet weight) in the examined species ranged from 1.420 to 9.575mg/kg for As, 0.034 to 1.270 for Cd, 0.005 to 0.680 for Hg and 0.140 to 2.072 for Pb. Examination of the spatial distribution of As, Cd, Hg and Pb revealed statistically significant differences among the studied areas. Since the concentrations were below the maximum prescribed by the laws of the EU and Croatia (the concentrations slightly exceeded the upper limits for three samples; Pb, Cd and Hg) and the hazard index, (HI) for Cd, Hg and Pb were below 1 and the target cancer risk (TR) for As was lower than 1×10(-6), there is no human health risk of consumption of shellfish from Croatian waters.

Forensic botany: potential usefulness of microsatellite-based genotyping of Croatian olive (Olea europaea L.) in forensic casework.

AIM: To assess genotyping with microsatellite-based markers of the olive (Olea europaea L.) for potential application of olive as legal case evidence, with regard to the degree of variability within the Croatian olive genomic pool and to the effectiveness of the chosen set of microsatellite-based markers in revealing olive divergence. METHODS: The total of 44 autochthonous Croatian olive specimens were subjected to genotyping with 16 previously described and developed microsatellite-based markers. According to previous morphological analyses, 44 specimens were classified into 30 cultivars with the exception of an additional, previously unassigned specimen. RESULTS: Genotyping of 44 specimens distinguished a total of 44 different genotype profiles by 16 microsatellite-based loci. Average expected heterozigosity amounted to 0.758, which points to significant diversity of Croatian olives. CONCLUSION: Croatian olive genotyping showed strong varietal discrimination up to the single tree and considerable potential application of olive as evidence in investigation of crime, accident, and suicide circumstances.