Physical, chemical, and microbiological evaluation of sausages produced with chicken meat affected by deep pectoral myopathy.

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the chemical composition, lipid oxidation, and physical characteristics of fresh sausages produced with meat from the pectoralis major muscle affected by deep pectoral myopathy. For the characterization of myopathy, samples were collected from broiler chickens slaughtered between 42- and 46-days old in a slaughterhouse in the state of São Paulo. The experiment consisted of samples from pectoralis major muscle of birds affected or not by DPM (normal-absence of myopathy and DPM category 3-progressive degeneration of the pectoralis minor with a greenish appearance). After classification of the samples, a part of raw products with the pectoralis minor removed, was submitted to microbiological and physical analyses for the characterization of DPM. Afterward, only the pectoralis major muscle was used to manufacture fresh sausages and 2 groups were established. The evaluated parameters were: color, pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), shear force (SF), water activity (Aw), and chemical composition. Meat pH was higher (P < 0.05) in meats with DPM, however, WHC values were lower (71.92%), which made CL value increase (25.31%). In addition, the coloring increased and the technological characteristics of raw breasts were less favorable with the presence of DPM. All fresh sausages' color (except a* higher control group), pH, and Aw values were higher in DPM group. No effect on SF values was observed between fresh sausages. In chemical composition, only protein content increased in fresh sausages with DPM. Microbiological analyses did not indicate bacterial contamination of raw samples and fresh sausages. Data obtained in the present study suggest fresh sausages produced with breasts affected by DPM are a viable alternative and may confer more favorable qualitative characteristics to sausages than the raw marketed meat.

Efficiency of Amino Acid Utilization in Nellore Cattle Grazing Low-Quality Forage Supplemented with Different Sources of Nitrogen.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of supplementation with non-protein nitrogen (NPN) or ruminal undegradable protein (RUP) on intake, digestibility, and amino acid (AA) use efficiency of Nellore cattle grazing during the dry season. Eight Nellore steers (12 ± 2 months old) were used in quadruplicate Latin squares (2 × 2). The animals were placed on Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés under continuous grazing. The treatments included the following: (1) urea supplementation (NPN) and (2) supplementation of corn gluten meal 60 (CGM, RUP). Animals supplemented with CGM showed higher intakes of dry matter (DM) supplement, total AA, essential AA, and individual AA. The supplementation did not affect the total AA digestibility, total AA flux, and the AA fluxes of microbial origin and RUP from the diet (p > 0.05). The ruminal microorganism origin flux of total AA to the duodenum was 44.5% and 52.7% for animals supplemented with NPN and CGM, respectively. Animals supplemented with CGM showed an increase in blood concentrations of isoleucine (+19.09 µmol/L), cystine (+27.29 µmol/L), and albumin (+0.11 g/dL) (p < 0.05), but this increase was not accompanied by an improvement in N use efficiency of steers (p > 0.05). RUP supplementation via CGM can be an efficient nutritional strategy to enhance the intake and absorption of AA by Nellore cattle grazing low-quality forage during the dry season.