Beyond Conventional Meat Preservation: Saddling the Control of Bacteriocin and Lactic Acid Bacteria for Clean Label and Functional Meat Products.

Advancements in food science and technology have paved the way for the development of natural antimicrobial compounds to ensure the safety and quality of meat and meat products. Among these compounds, bacteriocin produced by lactic acid bacteria has gained considerable scientific attention for its ability to preserve the healthy properties of meat while preventing spoilage. This natural preservative is seen as a pioneering tool and a potent alternative to chemical preservatives and heat treatment, which can have harmful effects on the nutritional and sensory qualities of meat. Bacteriocin produced by lactic acid bacteria can be used in various forms, including as starter/protective cultures for fermented meats, purified or partially purified forms, loaded in active films/coatings, or established in encapsulate systems. This review delves into the downstream purification schemes of LAB bacteriocin, the elucidation of their characteristics, and their modes of action. Additionally, the application of LAB bacteriocins in meat and meat products is examined in detail. Overall, the use of LAB bacteriocins holds immense potential to inspire innovation in the meat industry, reducing the dependence on harmful chemical additives and minimizing the adverse effects of heat treatment on nutritional and sensory qualities. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential of bacteriocin produced by lactic acid bacteria as a natural and effective meat preservative.

Eurasian consumers' food safety beliefs and trust issues in the age of COVID-19: evidence from an online survey in 15 countries.

BACKGROUND: This investigation provides an important insight into Eurasian consumers' food safety beliefs and trust issues influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted in 15 European and Asian countries involving more than 4000 consumers. RESULTS: It has confirmed that different socioeconomic characteristics, cultural aspects and education levels shape food safety perceptions within Eurasian countries. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced their beliefs and trust in food safety, which is relatively low on average. However, it is significantly higher for European consumers (especially European Union ones) compared to their Asian counterparts. Both Asian and European respondents agreed that food fraud and climate changes represent a food safety issue. However, European consumers were less concerned regarding the food safety of genetically modified foods and meat and dairy analogs/hybrids. Asian consumers were, to a greater extent, worried about the risk of getting COVID-19 from food, restaurants, food retail establishments and home food deliveries. CONCLUSION: Eurasian consumers have put their greatest extent of trust, when food safety assurance is concerned, into food scientists and food producers holding a food safety certificate. Broadly, they are uncertain to what extent their federal governments and food inspectors are competent, able and efficient in ensuring food safety. Higher education of Eurasian consumers was followed by increased food safety confidence in all parts of the food chain. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

A critical review on protein-based smart packaging systems: Understanding the development, characteristics, innovations, and potential applications.

The use of packaging in the food industry is essential to protect food and improve its shelf life. However, traditional packaging, based on petroleum derivatives, presents some problems because it is non-biodegradable and is obtained from nonrenewable sources. In contrast, protein-based smart packaging is presented as an environmentally friendly strategy that also permits obtaining packaging with excellent characteristics for the formation of smart films and coatings. This review aims to summarize recent developments in smart packaging, focusing on edible films/coatings materials, originating from animal and plant protein sources. Various characteristics like mechanical, barrier, functional, sensory, and sustainability of packaging systems are discussed, and the processes used for their development are also described. Moreover, relevant examples of the application of these smart packaging technologies in muscle foods and some innovations in this area are presented. Protein-based films and coatings from plant and animal origins have great potential to enhance food safety and quality, and reduce environmental issues (e.g., plastic pollution and food waste). Some characteristics of the packages can be improved by incorporating polysaccharides, lipids, and other components as antioxidants, antimicrobials, and nanoparticles in protein-based composites. Promising results have been shown in many muscle foods, such as meat, fish, and other seafood. These innovative smart packaging systems are characterized by their renewable and biodegradable nature, and sustainability, among other features that go beyond typical protection barriers (namely, active, functional, and intelligent features). Nonetheless, the utilization of protein-based responsive films and coatings at industrial level still need optimization to be technologically and economically valid and viable.

Mucilage polysaccharide as a plant secretion: Potential trends in food and biomedical applications.

Current trends are shifting away from using synthetic compounds in favor of discovering new natural component sources that will allow them to create goods that are healthful, environmentally friendly, sustainable, and profitable. The food industry, in light of these trends, has opted to look for safe natural ingredients that will allow the production of low-fat, artificial-additive-free, gluten-free, prebiotic, and fortified foods. Similarly, the pharmaceutical and medical industries have attempted to apply natural ingredients to address the challenges related to biomaterials more efficiently than synthetic ingredients. Against this background, plant mucilage has proven to be a polysaccharide with excellent health features and technological properties, useful for both food and biomedical applications. Many studies have shown that its inclusion in different food matrices improves the quality of the products obtained under appropriate reformulations. At the same time, plant mucilage has been indicated to be a very interesting matrix in biomedical field especially tissue engineering applications since it has been emerged to favor tissue regeneration with its highly biocompatible structure. This concise review discusses the most recent advances of the applications of plant mucilage in different foods as well as its recent use in biomedical field. In this context, firstly, a general definition of mucilage was made and information about plant-based mucilage, which is frequently used, about the plant parts they are found in, their content and how they are obtained are presented. Then, the use of mucilage in the food industry including bakery products, meat emulsions, fermented dairy products, ice cream, and other foods is presented with case studies. Afterwards, the use of plant mucilage in the biomedical field, which has attracted attention in recent years, especially in applications with tissue engineering approach such as scaffolds for tissue regeneration, wound dressings, drug delivery systems and pharmaceutical industry was evaluated.

A novel approach to Lactiplantibacillus plantarum: From probiotic properties to the omics insights.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (previously known as Lactobacillus plantarum) strains are one of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) commonly used in fermentation and their probiotic and functional properties along with their health-promoting roles come to the fore. Food-derived L. plantarum strains have shown good resistance and adhesion in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) and excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Furthermore, many strains of L. plantarum can produce bacteriocins with interesting antimicrobial activity. This probiotic properties of L. plantarum and existing in different niches give a great potential to have beneficial effects on health. It is also has been shown that L. plantarum can regulate the intestinal microbiota composition in a good way. Recently, omics approaches such as metabolomics, secretomics, proteomics, transcriptomics and genomics try to understand the roles and mechanisms of L. plantarum that are related to its functional characteristics. This review provides an overview of the probiotic properties, including the specific interactions between microbiota and host, and omics insights of L. plantarum.

Recent advancements in natural colorants and their application as coloring in food and in intelligent food packaging.

Colorants are widely employed in the food industry as an essential ingredient in many products since color is one of the most valued attributes by consumers. Furthermore, the utilization of colorants is currently being extended to the food packaging technologies. The objective of this review was to compile recent information about the main families of natural coloring compounds, and to describe their real implications in food coloring. In addition, their technological use in different food systems (namely, bakery products, beverages, meat and meat products, and dairy products) and their utilization in intelligent packaging to monitor the freshness of foodstuffs with the aim of extending food shelf life and improving food properties was discussed. The potential of using natural colorant in different food to improve their color has been demonstrated, although color stability is still a challenging task. More interestingly, the application of intelligent colorimetric indicators to exhibit color changes with variations in pH can enable real-time monitoring of food quality.

Application of oligosaccharides in meat processing and preservation.

In recent decades, consumer preference and attention to foodstuff presented as healthy and with desirable nutritional information, has increased significantly. In this field, the meat industry has a challenging task since meat and meat products have been related to various chronic diseases. Functional ingredients have emerged in response to the increasing demand for healthier and more nutritious foods. On this matter, oligosaccharides such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), xylooligosaccharides (XOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and chitooligosaccharides (COS) have been presented as suitable ingredients for the meat industry with the aim of obtaining healthier meat derivatives (e.g. with low fat or sugar content, reduced amount of additives, and desirable functional properties, etc.). However, studies considering application of such oligomers in the meat sector are scarce. In addition, a large number of issues remain to be solved related both to obtaining and characterizing the oligosaccharides available in the industry and to the effect that these ingredients have on the features of meat products (mainly physicochemical and sensory). The study of new oligosaccharides, the methodologies for obtaining them, and their application to new meat products should be promoted, as well as improving knowledge about their effects on the properties of functional meat foods.

The Impacts of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum on the Functional Properties of Fermented Foods: A Review of Current Knowledge.

One of the most varied species of lactic acid bacteria is Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (Lb. plantarum), formerly known as Lactobacillus plantarum. It is one of the most common species of bacteria found in foods, probiotics, dairy products, and beverages. Studies related to genomic mapping and gene locations of Lb. plantarum have shown the novel findings of its new strains along with their non-pathogenic or non-antibiotic resistance genes. Safe strains obtained with new technologies are a pioneer in the development of new probiotics and starter cultures for the food industry. However, the safety of Lb. plantarum strains and their bacteriocins should also be confirmed with in vivo studies before being employed as food additives. Many of the Lb. plantarum strains and their bacteriocins are generally safe in terms of antibiotic resistance genes. Thus, they provide a great opportunity for improving the nutritional composition, shelf life, antioxidant activity, flavour properties and antimicrobial activities in the food industry. Moreover, since some Lb. plantarum strains have the ability to reduce undesirable compounds such as aflatoxins, they have potential use in maintaining food safety and preventing food spoilage. This review emphasizes the impacts of Lb. plantarum strains on fermented foods, along with novel approaches to their genomic mapping and safety aspects.

Recent advances in food products fortification with anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins are polyphenolic compounds belonging to the group of flavonoids in charge of providing red, purple, and blue colourations to different parts of trees and plants, such as leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, and stems. These substances have potential health benefits due to characteristics such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which could be leveraged in the food industry. However, the use and handling of anthocyanins are conditioned due to the low stability of these molecules. For this reason, the application of adequate extraction, purification and stabilization techniques is required for its subsequent management. In this regards, green extraction methods and novel stabilization techniques are of particular interest in the utilization of these biocompounds. This review provides in-depth information about the extraction, purification, and stabilization of anthocyanins from different plant sources. Additionally, this work highlights the potential use of anthocyanins in the food industry for the formulation of different fortified foods and beverages, which could have beneficial health effects. Green technologies, are a promising tool to recover extracts rich in anthocyanins from different vegetable matrices, including by-products. The extracts obtained can be easily used in the fortification of baked foods, dairy products, and different beverages.

Foodomic-Based Approach for the Control and Quality Improvement of Dairy Products.

The food quality assurance before selling is a needed requirement intended for protecting consumer interests. In the same way, it is also indispensable to promote continuous improvement of sensory and nutritional properties. In this regard, food research has recently contributed with studies focused on the use of 'foodomics'. This review focuses on the use of this technology, represented by transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, for the control and quality improvement of dairy products. The complex matrix of these foods requires sophisticated technology able to extract large amounts of information with which to influence their aptitude for consumption. Thus, throughout the article, different applications of the aforementioned technologies are described and discussed in essential matters related to food quality, such as the detection of fraud and/or adulterations, microbiological safety, and the assessment and improvement of transformation industrial processes (e.g., fermentation and ripening). The magnitude of the reported results may open the door to an in-depth transformation of the most conventional analytical processes, with the introduction of new techniques that allow a greater understanding of the biochemical phenomena occurred in this type of food.

Proteomic Advances in Cereal and Vegetable Crops.

The importance of vegetables in human nutrition, such as cereals, which in many cases represent the main source of daily energy for humans, added to the impact that the incessant increase in demographic pressure has on the demand for these plant foods, entails the search for new technologies that can alleviate this pressure on markets while reducing the carbon footprint of related activities. Plant proteomics arises as a response to these problems, and through research and the application of new technologies, it attempts to enhance areas of food science that are fundamental for the optimization of processes. This review aims to present the different approaches and tools of proteomics in the investigation of new methods for the development of vegetable crops. In the last two decades, different studies in the control of the quality of crops have reported very interesting results that can help us to verify parameters as important as food safety, the authenticity of the products, or the increase in the yield by early detection of diseases. A strategic plan that encourages the incorporation of these new methods into the industry will be essential to promote the use of proteomics and all the advantages it offers in the optimization of processes and the solution of problems.

Proteomic Advances in Milk and Dairy Products.

Proteomics is a new area of study that in recent decades has provided great advances in the field of medicine. However, its enormous potential for the study of proteomes makes it also applicable to other areas of science. Milk is a highly heterogeneous and complex fluid, where there are numerous genetic variants and isoforms with post-translational modifications (PTMs). Due to the vast number of proteins and peptides existing in its matrix, proteomics is presented as a powerful tool for the characterization of milk samples and their products. The technology developed to date for the separation and characterization of the milk proteome, such as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) technology and especially mass spectrometry (MS) have allowed an exhaustive characterization of the proteins and peptides present in milk and dairy products with enormous applications in the industry for the control of fundamental parameters, such as microbiological safety, the guarantee of authenticity, or the control of the transformations carried out, aimed to increase the quality of the final product.

Measurement of Antioxidant Capacity of Meat and Meat Products: Methods and Applications.

At present, a wide variety of analytical methods is available to measure antioxidant capacity. However, this great diversity is not reflected in the analysis of meat and meat products, as there are a limited number of studies on determining this parameter in this complex food matrix. Despite this, and due to the interest in antioxidants that prevent oxidation reactions, the identification of antioxidants in meat and meat products is of special importance to the meat industry. For this reason, this review compiled the main antioxidant capacity assays employed in meat and meat products, to date, describing their foundations, and showing both their advantages and limitations. This review also looked at the different applications of antioxidant properties in meat and meat products. In this sense, the suitability of using these methodologies has been demonstrated in different investigations related to these foods.

Influence of the Production System (Intensive vs. Extensive) at Farm Level on Proximate Composition and Volatile Compounds of Portuguese Lamb Meat.

Today's society demands healthy meat with a special emphasis on integrated animal husbandry combined with the concern for animal welfare. In this sense, the raising of lambs in an extensive system has been one of the most common practices, which results in meats with high nutritional value. However, both the production system and the diet play a fundamental role in the chemical composition of the meat, which has a direct impact on the content of volatile compounds. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of two production systems (intensive and extensive) on the chemical composition and volatile profile of lamb meat. Twenty-eight lambs of the Bordaleira-de-Entre-Douro-e-Minho (BEDM) sheep breed were raised for meat production under the intensive or extensive system and were fed with concentrate and pasture, respectively. All animals were carried out in the muscle longissimus thoracis et lumborum. Results evidenced that all the composition parameters were affected by the production system. Extensively-reared lambs produced meat with the highest fat and protein contents, while these animals had the lowest percentages of moisture and ash. Similarly, the total content of volatile compounds was affected (p < 0.05) by the production system and were higher in the meat of lambs reared extensively. Furthermore, the content of total acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ethers, furans and sulfur compounds as well as most of the individual compounds were also affected (p < 0.05) by the production system, whereas total hydrocarbons and ketones were not affected (p > 0.05). As a general conclusion, the production system had very high influence not only in proximate composition but also in the volatile compounds.

Total Phenol Content and Antioxidant Activity of Different Celta Pig Carcass Locations as Affected by the Finishing Diet (Chestnuts or Commercial Feed).

The objective of this research was to evaluate the total phenol content, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) and commercial feed employed in the finishing diet of the Celta pig breed and analyze the effect of the feeding (chestnuts vs. commercial feed) in the finishing diet on total phenol content and antioxidant activity of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, Psoas major, and Biceps femoris muscles and liver of the Celta pig breed. The antioxidant activity of the feed and animal tissue was investigated using three antioxidant methods (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, 2-2'-Azino-di-[3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonate] (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay). The determination of the total phenol content and total flavonoids showed that chestnut had a significantly lower concentration than commercial feed in these compounds (130.00 vs. 312.89 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g fresh weight and 8.58 vs. 32.18 mg catechin equivalents/100 g fresh weight, respectively). However, the results displayed that chestnuts had a higher antioxidant activity when compared with the commercial feed through the DPPH and ABTS methods (1152.42 vs. 957.33 µg Trolox equivalents/g fresh weight, and 9379.74 vs. 7613.44 µg Trolox equivalents/g fresh weight, for DPPH and ABTS assay, respectively), while the antioxidant activity measured by the FRAP assay turned out to show higher values for commercial feed (1777.49 and 1946.09 µmol Fe2+/100 fresh weight for chestnut and commercial feed, respectively), although significant differences were only found in the ABTS assay. On the other hand, the present study found that chestnut significantly reduces the total phenol content and declines the antioxidant activity of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, Psoas major, and Biceps femoris muscles and liver of the Celta pig breed. Finally, it has been found that liver is the location that has the best antioxidant characteristics compared to any muscle, regardless of diet utilized.

Effects of different cooking methods and of the inclusion of chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) in the finishing diet of Celta pig breed on the physicochemical parameters and volatile profile of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle.

The effect of different cooking methods and the influence of the use of chestnuts (Castanea sativa Miller) rather than commercial feed in the pig diet on physicochemical characteristics, oxidative stability and volatile profile of cooked Longissimus thoracis et lumborum Celta pig muscle was investigated. Four treatments were used for cooking meat from both diets: roasting, grilling, frying and microwaving. Analysis of cooked meat included the proximate composition (moisture, protein, fat, and ash contents), colour parameters (L*, a*, b*), cooking loss, shear force, lipid oxidation and volatile compounds. Overall, the cooking technique significantly affected the proximal composition, colour parameters, cooking loss, TBARS and volatile profile of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, whereas the shear force was not affected by the heat treatment. Frying was the technique that led to a greater presence of fat. Additionally, microwaved and fried samples presented the highest cooking losses. Regarding to the lipid oxidation, grilling and microwaving showed more negative effects on the samples, while frying involved a lower presence of TBARS and hexanal contents. The major volatile compounds were aldehydes for all cooking methods except for the frying technique, which besides presented the lowest amount of total volatiles compounds. With respect to the finishing diet, in general the use of chestnuts did not affect the chemical composition, colour parameters, cooking loss and shear force of cooked Longissimus thoracis et lumborum. Nevertheless, a significant decrease in the TBARS value was found with the inclusion of this fruit in the finishing diet. At the same time, the use of chestnuts also affects the content of some volatile compounds such as heptanal and furan, 2-pentyl.

Influence of the Inclusion of Chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) in the Finishing Diet and Cooking Technique on the Physicochemical Parameters and Volatile Profile of Biceps femoris Muscle.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the diet (chestnut vs. commercial feed) and cooking techniques (roasting, grilling, frying and microwaving) on the quality of the Biceps femoris muscle of the Celta pig breed. Chemical composition, physicochemical parameters, oxidative stability and volatile profile were analysed. Overall, the inclusion of chestnuts did not affect the chemical composition, except for intramuscular fat content, which was higher in chestnut-fed pigs. The colour and shear force of cooked Biceps femoris were not affected by the finishing diet. However, a significant increase in cooking losses and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value was found with the chestnuts included in the diet. In addition, the inclusion of chestnuts also modified some volatile compound that could be associated with the diet, such as furan, 2-pentyl. On the other hand, the cooking method significantly affected chemical composition (moisture, fat, protein and ash content), colour parameters, cooking loss, TBARS and volatile profile, whereas the shear force was not affected. Concretely, fried and microwave were the techniques that led to a greater presence of intramuscular fat. In addition, the frying method also showed the highest a* value, whereas the microwaved technique displayed the highest cooking loss. Regarding lipid oxidation, the fried method displayed the lower TBARS and hexanal content. On the other hand, the major volatile compounds were aldehydes in all cooking methods except for the frying technique in chestnut samples. Finally, method-frying displayed the lowest amount of total volatiles compounds, unlike grilling.

Effect of the use of chestnuts (Castanea sativa Miller) in the finishing diet of Celta pig breed on the shelf-life of meat refrigerated and frozen.

The effect of the use of commercial feed or chestnuts (Castanea sativa Miller) in the finishing diet of Celta pig on the microbiological counts, physicochemical parameters (pH and color), myoglobin state, lipid and protein oxidation, and sensory attributes of Longissimus dorsi muscle packaged in modified atmospheres during the refrigerated storage (28 days at 4 °C) was investigated. Also, the effect on the physicochemical parameters (pH and color), myoglobin state, lipid and protein oxidation, and sensory attributes of meat during frozen storage (180 days at -20 °C) was studied. The use of chestnuts in the finishing diet significantly increased the counts of the different microbial groups (total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae) during refrigerated storage of meat. However the use of chestnuts did not affect significantly the values of pH, color parameters, percentages of the myoglobin forms, lipid and protein oxidation or sensory attributes of the meat during the refrigerated or frozen storage. The microbiological and oxidative parameters indicated an acceptable quality of meat after 28 days of refrigerated storage; however, judges found the sensory attributes modified after 12 or 20 days of storage.