International comparisons, domestic influences and where to next? The case of Irish meat consumption.

Meat consumption internationally is driven by many common factors. While this broadly results in similar temporal trends, diversity in how these factors play out locally is evident. Drawing on secondary data sources, this paper illustrates this by comparing Irish meat consumption with other geographies. It illuminates the differential impact of significant shocks, e.g. the BSE crises, and socio-cultural factors on consumption. With increased attention on sustainability, how motivations relating to health, the environment and animal welfare will influence consumption is likely to vary across countries. Questions arise as to how strategies such as "less but better" will evolve, with available options including changing production parameters, producing meat-blended products, premiumisation and meat reduction. Given that the demand for meat stems as much from its traditional role in cultural practices as it does from satisfying individual needs, the extent to which consumer needs are being met by current offerings will change as the position held by meat in society changes.

Dark-cutting beef: A brief review and an integromics meta-analysis at the proteome level to decipher the underlying pathways.

Comprehensive characterization of the post-mortem muscle proteome defines a fundamental goal in meat proteomics. During the last decade, proteomics tools have been applied in the field of foodomics to help decipher factors underpinning meat quality variations and to enlighten us, through data-driven methods, on the underlying mechanisms leading to meat quality defects such as dark-cutting meat known also as dark, firm and dry (DFD) meat. In cattle, several proteomics studies have focused on the extent to which changes in the post-mortem muscle proteome relate to dark-cutting beef development. The present data-mining study firstly reviews proteomics studies which investigated dark-cutting beef, and secondly, gathers the protein biomarkers that differ between dark-cutting versus beef with normal-pH in a unique repertoire. A list of 130 proteins from eight eligible studies was curated and mined through bioinformatics for Gene Ontology annotations, molecular pathways enrichments, secretome analysis and biological pathways comparisons to normal beef color from a previous meta-analysis. The major biological pathways underpinning dark-cutting beef at the proteome level have been described and deeply discussed in this integromics study.

The Use of Potassium Chloride and Tapioca Starch to Enhance the Flavour and Texture of Phosphate- and Sodium-Reduced Low Fat Breakfast Sausages Manufactured Using High Pressure-Treated Meat.

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of potassium chloride (KCl) and tapioca starch (TS) to reduce salt levels below 1.5% in sausages manufactured using previously high pressure (HP) processed pork (150 MPa). A 3 × 2 × 1 factorial design was used to formulate breakfast sausages with three salt levels (0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%), two ingredient levels (no added ingredient or added as a combination of KCl\TS), and one pressure level (150 MPa). Partial replacement of NaCl with KCl and addition of TS had beneficial effects on the water binding abilities of sausage batters by decreasing (p < 0.05) total expressible fluid (%) and increasing water holding capacity (%). Overall, results indicated that the use of KCl\TS imparted some beneficial effects to salt-reduced low fat breakfast sausages and has the potential to reduce salt levels in the breakfast sausages to 1.0% while still maintaining the organoleptic and functional properties traditionally associated with these meat products.

Molecular signatures of beef tenderness: Underlying mechanisms based on integromics of protein biomarkers from multi-platform proteomics studies.

Over the last two decades, proteomics have been employed to decipher the underlying factors contributing to variation in the quality of muscle foods, including beef tenderness. One such approach is the application of high-throughput protein analytical platforms in the identification of meat quality biomarkers. To broaden our understanding about the biological mechanisms underpinning meat tenderization across a large number of studies, an integromics study was performed to review the current status of protein biomarker discovery targeting beef tenderness. This meta-analysis is the first to gather and propose a comprehensive list of 124 putative protein biomarkers derived from 28 independent proteomics-based experiments, from which 33 robust candidates were identified worthy of evaluation using targeted or untargeted data-independent acquisition proteomic methods. We further provide an overview of the interconnectedness of the main biological pathways impacting tenderness determination after multistep analyses including Gene Ontology annotations, pathway and process enrichment and literature mining, and specifically discuss the major proteins and pathways most often reported in proteomics research.

The Extent and Rate of the Appearance of the Major 110 and 30 kDa Proteolytic Fragments during Post-Mortem Aging of Beef Depend on the Glycolysing Rate of the Muscle and Aging Time: An LC-MS/MS Approach to Decipher Their Proteome and Associated Pathways.

Post-mortem (p-m) muscle undergoes a myriad of complex physical and biochemical changes prior to its conversion to meat, which are influential on proteolysis and hence tenderization. A more in-depth understanding of the mechanisms underpinning these dynamics is a key to consistently providing tender beef. Using an LC-MS/MS approach, with state-of-art mass spectrometry Q Exactive HF-X, the proteome and associated pathways contributing to the appearance of the proteolytic breakdown products appearing over 14 days p-m, at two important molecular weights (110 and 30 kDa) on 1D SDS-PAGE gels, have been investigated in beef longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscles exhibiting four rates of pH decline differentiated on the basis of time at pH 6 (fast glycolysing, <3 h; medium, 3-5 h; slow, 5-8 h; and very slow, 8+ h). Both 110 and 30 kDa bands appeared during aging and increased in intensity as a function of p-m time in a pH decline-dependent manner. The 110 kDa band appeared as early as 3 h p-m and displayed an incremental increase in all groups through to 14 days p-m. From 2 days p-m, this increase in abundance during aging was significantly (P < 0.001) influenced by the glycolytic rate: fast > or = medium > slow > very slow. The day 2 p-m appearance of the 30 kDa band was most evident for the fast glycolysing muscle with little or no evidence of appearance in slow and very slow. For days 7 and 14 p-m, the strength of appearance was dependent on glycolysing groups fast > medium > or = slow > very slow. LC-MS/MS analysis yielded a total of 22 unique proteins for the 110 kDa fragment and 13 for the 30 kDa, with 4 common proteins related to both the actin and fibrinogen complex. The Gene Ontology analysis revealed that a myriad of biological pathways are influential with many related to proteins involved primarily in muscle contraction and structure. Other pathways of interest include energy metabolism, apoptotic mitochondrial changes, calcium and ion transport, and so on. Interestingly, most of the proteins composing the fragments were so far identified as biomarkers of beef tenderness and other quality traits.

European conformation and fat scores of bovine carcasses are not good indicators of marbling.

Marbling is one of the primary carcass attributes utilized in most beef grading systems for eating quality evaluation. In Europe, the current beef grading system is the EUROP grid, which is focused on carcass commercial value and production yield rather than eating quality estimation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between marbling and the most common scores for carcass classification in Europe. If there are strong associations between marbling and European classification scores, marbling score may be estimated from the carcass characteristics. However, this study indicated that European classification scores explain only a slight proportion of the variance in marbling score (32%, 46%, 34% and 21% for the entire cattle group, young bulls, females and steers, respectively). Therefore, whereas the EUROP grid is well adapted to estimate yield, it does not reflect marbling at all. The European beef industry should take into account additional indicators related to beef palatability to assist the determination of the commercial value of carcasses.

Contributions of tenderness, juiciness and flavor liking to overall liking of beef in Europe.

This study evaluated the contributions of sensory traits to overall liking in Europe. Perceptions by untrained consumers of tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking and overall liking were determined using the Meat Standards Australia protocols. According to European consumer testing with European beef samples, flavor liking was the most important contributor (39%) to beef overall liking, followed by tenderness (31%) and juiciness (24%) (P < .05; R2 > 0.94). The improvement in tenderness over the last decades may explain the highest contribution of flavor liking nowadays. Flavor liking is therefore the main driver of variability in overall liking. Juiciness is the least robust trait which could be influenced by other traits during consumer perception. For outstanding steaks, each sensory trait should have excellent scores and high contributions to overall liking. For medium cuts, one sensory trait with a low score has the potential to be compensated by other traits with higher scores and more emphasis will be placed on the trait with the lowest perception.

Health Implications of Beef Intramuscular Fat Consumption.

Despite several issues in relation to human health, beef is still a most popular meat product among large section of society due to the presence of high quality protein and other nutrients. The current paper reviews numerous studies that provide nutritional profiles and health implications of high marbled beef consumption. In relation to lipid content of beef, intramuscular fat contains high level of PUFA and MUFA compared to other beef fat. Level and composition of intramuscular fat varies depending on breed and feeding regime. Literature suggests that the marbling is more complex than the development of subcutaneous fat and marbling not only provides good fatty acids but also contributes to the higher eating quality of beef. Finally, the current work emphasize that meat plays a pivotal role in nutritious diets, high quality marbled beef is not only of excellent eating quality but also contain more beneficial fatty acids.

Sustainable and consumer-friendly emerging technologies for application within the meat industry: An overview.

New and emerging robust technologies can play an important role in ensuring a more resilient meat value chain and satisfying consumer demands and needs. This paper outlines various novel thermal and non-thermal technologies which have shown potential for meat processing applications. A number of process analytical techniques which have shown potential for rapid, real-time assessment of meat quality are also discussed. The commercial uptake and consumer acceptance of novel technologies in meat processing have been subjects of great interest over the past decade. Consumer focus group studies have shown that consumer expectations and liking for novel technologies, applicable to meat processing applications, vary significantly. This overview also highlights the necessity for meat processors to address consumer risk-benefit perceptions, knowledge and trust in order to be commercially successful in the application of novel technologies within the meat sector.

Meat consumption: trends and quality matters.

This paper uses quality theory to identify opportunities for the meat sector that are consistent with trends in meat consumption. Meat consumption has increased and is likely to continue into the future. Growth is largely driven by white meats, with poultry in particular of increasing importance globally. The influence of factors such as income and price is likely decline over time so that other factors, such as quality, will become more important. Quality is complex and consumers' quality expectations may not align with experienced quality due to misconception of certain intrinsic cues. Establishing relevant and effective cues, based on extrinsic and credence attributes, could offer advantage on the marketplace. The use of extrinsic cues can help convey quality characteristics for eating quality, but also for more abstract attributes that reflect individual consumer concerns e.g. health/nutrition, and collective concerns, e.g. sustainability. However, attributes are not of equal value to all consumers. Thus consumer segmentation and production differentiation is needed.

The application of high-pressure treatment in the reduction of salt levels in reduced-phosphate breakfast sausages.

This study investigated the effects of high pressure (HP) treatment of pork meat before manufacturing sausages with reduced salt levels and compared them to sausages manufactured with untreated meat (control sausages). A 2×5 factorial design was set up incorporating two pressure levels (0 or 150 MPa) and five salt levels (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5%). Most quality attributes were affected when salt levels were reduced below 1.5%. Fat loss (FL) was (P<0.05) affected by salt level; samples with <1.5% salt had the highest FL. HP treatment increased emulsion stability and reduced cook loss (CL) compared to control sausages. Increased CL was observed when salt was reduced below 2.0%. Salt reduction below 1.5% adversely affected colour, sensory and texture attributes. Independent of salt, HP treatment affected adversely juiciness and cohesiveness while adhesiveness was improved. Overall, there is potential to manufacture sausages maintaining organoleptic and functional properties traditionally associated with sausages using HP treated meat.

The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics, and the fatty acid profile of muscle from yearling bulls.

The influence of breed and mh-genotype on carcass conformation, meat physico-chemical characteristics and the fatty acid profile of muscle were studied. Samples from 16 yearling bulls from "Asturiana de los Valles" (AV, n=12) and "Asturiana de la Montaña" (AM, n=4) were collected. AV animals were classified into three groups according to the presence of the gene causing double-muscling (AV double-muscled (mh/mh), n=4; AV heterozygous (mh/+), n=4; AV normal (+/+), n=4). Double-muscled animals displayed better carcass traits, lower total fat (comprised of subcutaneous (SC), intermuscular (IT) and intramuscular (IM) deposits), higher lean, moisture and drip loss, and lighter meat than AV normal animals. Heterozygous animals showed intermediate characteristics. AM animals, being a more rustic and smaller breed, showed lower conformation, higher total fat (SC, IT and IM), lower moisture and darker meat. According to the intramuscular fatty acid profile, mh/mh animals showed a lower proportion of SFA and MUFA, and a higher proportion of PUFA with an equal proportion of CLA in total fatty acid content. The P/S ratio increased with increasing number of mh alleles (or double-muscling character), while no differences between animal groups were found for the n-6/n-3 ratio.

Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA.

In 1996, we measured concentrations of arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in blood of adult king (Somateria spectabilis) and spectacled (Somateria fischeri) eiders and duckling spectacled eiders from northern Alaska, USA. Concentrations of selenium exceeded background levels in all adults sampled and 9 of 12 ducklings. Mercury was detected in all adult spectacled eiders and 5 of 12 ducklings. Lead concentrations were above the clinical toxicity threshold in one duckling (0.64 ppm) and two adult female spectacled eiders (0.54 and 4.30 ppm). Concentrations of cadmium and mercury varied between species; barium, cadmium, mercury, and selenium varied between sexes. In female spectacled eiders, mercury concentrations increased during the breeding season and barium and selenium levels decreased through the breeding season. Selenium declined at 2.3 +/- 0.9% per day and levels were lower in spectacled eiders arriving to the breeding grounds in northern Alaska than in western Alaska. The variation in selenium levels between breeding areas may be explained by differences in timing and routes of spring migration. Most trace elements for which we tested were not at levels currently considered toxic to marine birds. However, the presence of mercury and elevated lead in ducklings and adult female spectacled eiders suggests these metals are available on the breeding grounds.

A skeletal muscle troponin T specific ELISA based on the use of an antibody against the soluble troponin T (16-31) fragment.

Proteolytic degradation of muscle, which occurs post-mortem as part of the meat-ageing process, results in the production of protein fragments. In beef, degradation of skeletal muscle troponin T (TnT) results in the generation of a 16-residue long peptide (TnT (16-31)), identified in trichloroacetic acid (TCA) soluble extracts. We report the development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantification of TnT (16-31), using polyclonal antibodies raised against synthetic TnT (16-31). The ELISA procedure is based on inhibition of binding of the antibodies to immobilised TnT (16-31) by TnT (16-31) present in solution. Its useful range is 30 pmol to 2 nmol TnT (16-31)/ml. Quantification of TnT (16-31) in TCA muscle extracts showed that its concentration was enhanced with ageing. Moreover, a correlation between TnT (16-31) levels and meat tenderness was observed. The ELISA developed herein may prove advantageous for future use at the research and industrial level.