Comparing consumer liking of beef from three feeding systems using a combination of traditional and temporal liking sensory methods.

Research on the effects of animal diet on consumer liking of beef has yielded conflicting results. Currently it is unknown whether dynamic changes occur in liking during consumption of beef. This study applied a combination of traditional and temporal (free and structured) liking methods to determine consumer liking of beef derived from animals that were fed grain (GF), grass silage plus grain (SG) or grazed grass (GG) during finishing. Three separate panels of beef eating consumers (n = 51; n = 52; n = 50) were recruited from Teagasc Food Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland to assess striploin steaks from animals fed either GF, SG, or GG. Using the free temporal liking (TL) method, results revealed that beef from GF animals was liked significantly less (p ≤ 0.05) in terms of overall liking, tenderness and juiciness, when compared to steaks from the SG and GG animals. These effects were not observed using the structured TL or traditional liking methods. Further analysis showed the evolution of scores over time was significant (p ≤ 0.05) for all attributes using the free TL method. Overall, the free TL method yielded more discriminative data and was perceived as easier to perform by consumers compared to the structured TL method. These results show that the free TL method may provide an opportunity to elicit more in-depth information regarding consumer sensory response to meat.

Aroma generation in sponge cakes: The influence of sucrose particle size and sucrose source.

The influence of sucrose source and particle size was investigated in relation to the volatile and aromatic properties of sponge cakes. Six sponge cake formulations were studied using two sucrose sources (sugarbeet and sugarcane), at two particle sizes (large and small) with controls. Volatiles profiles and odour active compounds were identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and olfactometry. Sixty two volatile compounds were identified, incorporating twenty five odour active compounds/co-eluting compounds, with 5 odours perceived without any corresponding volatile. Particle size had the greatest impact on volatile abundance, with particle size especially influencing pyrazine abundance. Five odour active volatiles (methional, furfural, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, heptanal and (E)-2-octenal) contributed most to the aroma of these sponge cakes. Small particle size particularly from sugarbeet yielded higher levels of some Maillard and caramelisation reaction compounds, such as furfural (spicy/ bready), where larger particle size supressed volatile abundance in comparison to the control.

Effect of bovine feeding system (pasture or concentrate) on the oxidative and sensory shelf life of whole milk powder.

Correlating volatile compounds with the sensory attributes of whole milk powder (WMP) is fundamental for appreciating the effect of lipid oxidation (LO) on sensory perception. LO compounds can adversely affect the sensory perception of WMP by imparting rancid, metallic, and painty notes. Whole milk powders derived from milk produced by cows maintained on a pasture diet (grass and grass-clover mix) versus a nonpasture diet [total mixed ration (TMR); concentrates and silage] were stored at room temperature 21°C (ambient storage) and 37°C (accelerated storage) and analyzed for volatile compounds and sensory attributes every 2 mo for a total of 6 mo. Thirteen volatile compounds originating from LO were chosen to track the volatile profile of the WMP during storage. Color, composition, total fatty acid, and free fatty acid profiling were also carried out. Significant variations in the concentrations of 14 fatty acids were observed in WMP based on diet. Concentrations of free fatty acids increased in all sample types during storage. Similar trends in sensory attributes were observed with an increase in painty attributes, corresponding to an increase in hexanal. Buttery/toffee attributes were found to be more closely correlated with TMR WMP. Those WMP derived from pasture diets were found to be more susceptible to LO from a volatile perspective, particularly in relation to aldehyde development, which is likely due to increased concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid found in these samples.

Characterising the sensory quality and volatile aroma profile of clean-label sucrose reduced sponge cakes.

The sensory and aroma quality of 30% (w/w) sucrose reduced sponge cakes incorporating clean-label replacers were investigated. The sensory quality of the reformulated sponge cakes varied, with those containing apple pomace powder (APP) showing the greatest difference to the control (SC100). Volatile profiles mainly differed in relation to compounds derived from the Maillard reaction, caramelisation and lipid oxidation. Thrity six aroma active volatile compounds were identified in the SC100, APP and oligofructose (OLIGO) sponge cakes by olfactometry. Furfural 'spicy bready' contributed most to the overall aroma of all samples, with factor dilution values differing the most for heptanal 'fatty cake crust', methional 'potato damp', and 2,5-dimethylpyrazine 'cake crust, nutty'. This study provides an in-depth insight into the impact of sugar reduction reformulation on the sensory perception of sponge cakes and demonstrates how this approach can be used to improve the sensory perception of reduced sucrose sponge cakes.

A cross-cultural sensory analysis of skim powdered milk produced from pasture and non-pasture diets.

Understanding potential cross-cultural sensory differences in the perception of Irish dairy products is important for key markets such as the USA and China. As most Irish dairy products are produced from pasture derived milk, this study investigated the impact of pasture and non-pasture diets on the cross cultural sensory perception of skim milk powder (SMP) in Ireland, USA and China. SMP was produced from cows fed outdoors on ryegrass (GRS), ryegrass/white clover (CLV), and indoors on trial mixed rations (TMR). SMP samples were evaluated by Irish (n = 78), USA (n = 100) and Chinese (n = 106) consumers using an identical hedonic sensory acceptance test in Ireland, USA and China. Optimized Descriptive Profiling (ODP) was performed using trained assessors familiar with dairy products in Ireland (n = 25) and China (n = 22), and traditional descriptive analysis was undertaken by a trained panel (n = 7) in the USA. Volatile analysis was undertaken on each SMP sample. Hedonic assessment found that USA consumers preferred SMP derived from TMR, and Irish consumers preferred SMP from either GRS or CLV. Chinese consumers perceived SMP samples differently to the USA and Irish consumers, but preference was not influenced by diet. Both Irish and Chinese trained assessors found it more difficult to discern differences between GRS or CLV SMP, but could differentiate TMR SMP. Irish assessors preferred GRS and CLV SMP. Chinese and Irish assessors had different preferences for many attributes. Trained USA panelists found significant differences, exclusively associating pasture based diets with "cowy/barny" and "cardboard/wet paper" attributes and more intense "grassy/hay" attributes than in TMR SMP. The abundance of ten volatile compounds differed significantly based on diet with acetoin derived from carbohydrate metabolism at much greater abundance in TMR SMP. This study found that sensory perception and volatile profiles of SMP were influenced by diet and differences in sensory perception existed between the three cultural groups. Irish and USA sensory responses aligned with familiarity of dairy products derived from pasture and non-pasture diets, respectively, and Chinese sensory responses differed to Irish and USA responses likely reflecting their lack of familiarity with dairy products.

Quality of three muscles from suckler bulls finished on concentrates and slaughtered at 16 months of age or slaughtered at 19 months of age from two production systems.

There is a requirement in some beef markets to slaughter bulls at under 16 months of age. This requires high levels of concentrate feeding. Increasing the slaughter age of bulls to 19 months facilitates the inclusion of a grazing period, thereby decreasing the cost of production. Recent data indicate few quality differences in longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle from conventionally reared 16-month bulls and 19-month-old bulls that had a grazing period prior to finishing on concentrates. The aim of the present study was to expand this observation to additional commercially important muscles/cuts. The production systems selected were concentrates offered ad libitum and slaughter at under 16 months of age (16-C) or at 19 months of age (19-CC) to examine the effect of age per se, and the cheaper alternative for 19-month bulls described above (19-GC). The results indicate that muscles from 19-CC were more red, had more intramuscular fat and higher cook loss than those from 16-C. No differences in muscle objective texture or sensory texture and acceptability were found between treatments. The expected differences in composition and quality between the muscles were generally consistent across the production systems examined. Therefore, for the type of animal and range of ages investigated, the effect of the production system on LT quality was generally representative of the effect on the other muscles analysed. In addition, the data do not support the under 16- month age restriction, based on meat acceptability, in commercial suckler bull production.

Oligodendroglioma with Neuronal Differentiation in Two Boxer Dogs.

Two cases of high-grade glioma comprising sheets of oligodendroglial cells multifocally disrupted by regions of remarkable neuronal differentiation are described. These tumours morphologically resemble 'oligodendroglioma with ganglioglioma-like maturation', a rare tumour of man, but appear to be phenotypically more aggressive. Neuronal markers (synaptophysin, neuron-specific enolase and ßIII-tubulin) effectively highlight neuronal elements within these tumours and could potentially help to further investigate the prevalence and biological significance of neuronal differentiation in canine oligodendroglioma.

Regional, socioeconomic and behavioural- impacts on consumer acceptability of beef in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Great Britain.

This study was commissioned to assess if there are regional differences in the acceptability of beef between consumers from Northern Ireland (NI), Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Great Britain (GB). Palatability traits were affected by socioeconomic and behavioural factors such as preferred cooking endpoint, animal welfare, value, health aspects of beef product, ease of preparation as well as consumption frequency for specific cuts. "Willingness to pay" (WTP) was influenced by income, preferred cooking endpoint, value of beef product, ease of preparation and consumption frequency for frying steak. Results showed that GB consumers scored higher for the same striploin steak compared to NI and ROI consumers. This may be due to differences in the motivation for beef choice and/or consumption habits. GB consumers were less concerned about the healthiness of beef product and beef origin. In addition, a higher consumption frequency for rump was reported in GB, which may explain the higher sensory scores observed among GB consumers for striploins.

The effect of buttermilk or buttermilk powder addition on functionality, textural, sensory and volatile characteristics of Cheddar-style cheese.

The influence of buttermilk or buttermilk powder addition to cheese milk or cheese curds respectively on cheese functional properties, free fatty acid profiles and subsequent volatile and sensory characteristics was investigated. Buttermilk addition to cheese milk resulted in a softer cheese compared to other cheeses, with a significantly reduced flowability, while buttermilk powder addition had no influence on cheese firmness but cheese flowability was also reduced compared to the control cheese. Larger pools of free fat, higher levels of free fatty acids, volatile compounds and significant differences in sensory profiles associated with off-flavour were also observed with the addition of buttermilk to cheese milk. Application of light microscopy, using toluidine blue stain, facilitated the visualisation of fat globule structure and distribution within the protein matrix. Addition of 10% buttermilk powder resulted in significant increases in volatile compounds originating from proteolysis pathways associated with roasted, green aromas. Descriptive sensory evaluation indicated few differences between the 10% buttermilk powder and the control cheese, while buttermilk cheeses scored negatively for sweaty, barnyard aromas, oxidized and off flavors, correlating with associated volatile aromas. Addition of 10% buttermilk powder to cheese curds results in cheese comparable to the control Cheddar with some variations in volatile compounds resulting in a cheese with similar structural and sensory characteristics albeit with subtle differences in overall cheese flavor. This could be manipulated to produce cheeses of desirable quality, with potential health benefits due to increased phospholipid levels in cheese.

Fatty acid synthase as a potential therapeutic target in feline oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive and treatment-resistant malignancy in both feline and human patients. Recent work has demonstrated aberrant expression of fatty acid synthase (FASN) and an increased capacity for lipogenesis in human OSCC and other cancers. In human OSCC, inhibition of FASN decreased cell viability and growth in vitro, and diminished tumour growth and metastasis in murine preclinical models. This study aimed to characterize FASN as a therapeutic target in feline OSCC. Immunohistochemistry revealed high FASN expression in primary feline OSCC tumours, and FASN expression was detected in OSCC cell lines (3 feline and 3 human) by immunoblotting and quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Orlistat, a FASN inhibitor, substantially reduced cell viability in both feline and human OSCC lines, although feline cell lines consistently displayed higher sensitivity to the drug. FASN mRNA expression among cell lines mirrored sensitivity to orlistat, with feline cell lines expressing higher levels of FASN. Consistent with this observation, diminished sensitivity to orlistat treatment and decreased FASN mRNA expression were observed in feline OSCC cells following incubation under hypoxic conditions. Treatment with orlistat did not potentiate sensitivity to carboplatin in the cell lines investigated; instead, combinations of the 2 drugs resulted in additive to antagonistic effects. Our results suggest that FASN inhibition is a viable therapeutic target for feline OSCC. Furthermore, cats may serve as a spontaneous large animal model for human oral cancer, although differences in the regulation of lipogenesis between these 2 species require further investigation.