Effect of organic and conventional rearing system on the mineral content of pork

Source of dietary iron and zinc affects meat quality by altering muscular fatty acid profile, flavor substances, and metabolomics in finishing pigs

This study evaluated the effects of dietary iron and zinc supplementation from inorganic (CON) and organic sources (ORG) on growth performance, meat quality, fatty acid profile, and metabolome in pigs. Growth performance was unaffected by the treatments, but carcass traits such as loin muscle area, hot carcass weight, and yield in the ORG group were higher than in the CON group. The ORG supplements improved the quality (color, pH, shear force, marbling scores, IMF, IMP, and zinc) of raw meat and sensory traits (odor, flavor, tenderness, juiciness, and soup freshness) of cooked meat. Postmortem time significantly affected meat quality such as L*, a*, b*, and pH, as well as interacted with diet to affect pH of the LT. The ORG supplements altered fatty acid composition of pork. The results indicated that organic iron and zinc improved carcass traits, pork quality, and eating acceptability by increasing flavor substances and by altering fatty acid profile and metabolome.

Application of stable isotopes and mineral elements fingerprinting for beef traceability and authenticity in inner mongolia of China

In recent years, the origin and safety of counterfeit meat products have raised significant concerns among consumers. Therefore, there was an urgent need to develop a new method using fingerprinting techniques for meat product traceability. This study aimed to evaluate the traceability and authenticity of beef from Inner Mongolia by measuring the δ13C and δ15N values, as well as 13 mineral elements. In the complex environment of feeding regimes and agricultural types, δ15N, δ13C, and Se were selected as characteristic variables to differentiate feeding regimes, while Fe, K, Tl, Sr, Mn, and δ13C were chosen as characteristic variables for tracing the origin of the beef. Linear discriminant analysis achieved an accuracy rate of up to 100 %. This research confirmed the effectiveness of combining stable isotopes with mineral elements in accurately determining the origin of Inner Mongolian beef and verifying the authenticity of typical feed, providing a valuable strategy for traceability.

Nutritional composition and technological properties determining the quality of different cuts of organic and conventional Turkey meat

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional composition and technological properties of meat from turkeys produced under organic conditions and compare them with those of turkeys produced under conventional conditions. Twenty carcasses of female B.U.T. Premium turkeys (Aviagen Turkeys) were obtained directly from the abattoir ten h after slaughter time of animals. Ten carcasses originated from female turkeys reared under conventional intensive husbandry conditions for meat-type turkeys (on average, 5611.8 ± 196.2 g of carcass weight) and the other ten carcasses corresponded to female turkeys raised under certified organic free-range conditions (PavosBio, Ávila, Spain) (on average, 5528.5 ± 354.4 g of carcass weight). Breast, thigh and wing meat samples were analyzed from each turkey: Chemical composition, fatty acid profile, free amino acids, mineral and vitamins content, color, and texture. Meat from female turkeys reared under organic conditions presented higher fat content in breast (1.90 vs. 1.01%, P = 0.032), thigh (3.79 vs. 2.68%, P = 0.022) and wing (12.0 vs. 8.91%, P = 0.012) than meat of female turkeys reared under intensive conventional conditions. The proportion of saturated fatty acids was higher in the meat of intensively reared female turkeys than in those reared under organic conditions (42.8 vs. 38.1%, P = 0.017 in breast; 38.8 vs. 33.6%, P = 0.0053 in thigh and 40.2 vs. 33.9%, P < 0.001 in wing). On the contrary, the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids was higher in meat of organic turkeys (41.4 vs. 35.6%, P = 0.012 in breast; 42.3 vs. 35.6%, P < 0.001 in thigh and 46.9 vs. 39.3%, P = 0.011 in wing). Concentration of riboflavin and pyridoxine was higher by 21.1% (P = 0.010) and by 154% (P = 0.006), respectively, in meat from organically raised female turkeys than in that of female turkeys reared under intensive conditions. The organic turkey meat analyzed contained a higher proportion B2 and B6, lipids and monounsaturated fatty acids, and a lower content of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Nutritional Quality and Safety Assessment of Pork Meat Cuts from Romania: Fatty Acids and Elemental Profile

In this study, the fatty acids and elemental profiles of 53 pork cut samples were determined. To offer insights into their potential health implications, we computed 18 key nutritional indices. These indices included parameters such as saturated fatty acids (SFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), the MUFAs/SFAs ratio, PUFAs/SFAs ratio, atherogenic index (AI), thrombogenic index (TI), the hypocholesterolemic to hypercholesterolemic ratio (h/H), health-promoting index (HPI), hypocholesterolemic index (HI), unsaturation index (UI), saturation index (SI), peroxidizability index (PI), nutritional value index (NVI), hypocholesterolemic index of fatty acids (DFAs), hypercholesterolemic index of fatty acids (OFAs), and the DFAs/OFAs ratio. These indices were calculated based on their fatty acid composition to provide comprehensive nutritional information. A health risk assessment revealed the safety and minimum health risk for the population from consuming the investigated pork cuts using the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Hazard Index (HI), and target cancer risk (TR). The ANOVA test showed significant differences in the levels of K, Fe, Mn, Zn, MUFAs, and AI among the pork cut samples. It was noted that by employing the correlation between the fatty acids profile, nutritional indices, and elemental concentrations and an unsupervised statistical method, such as PCA, a perfect separation from the different pork cuts could not be obtained.

Influence of Geographical Origin on Isotopic and Elemental Compositions of Pork Meat

Pigs are a primary source of meat, accounting for over 30% of global consumption. Consumers' preferences are determined by health considerations, paying more attention to foodstuffs quality, animal welfare, place of origin, and swine feeding regime, and being willing to pay a higher price for a product from a certain geographical region. In this study, the isotopic fingerprints (δ2H, δ18O, and δ13C) and 29 elements of loin pork meat samples were corroborated with chemometric methods to obtain the most important variables that could classify the samples' geographical origin. δ2H and δ18O values ranged from -71.0 to -21.2‱, and from -9.3 to -2.8‱, respectively. The contents of macro- and micro-essential elements are presented in the following order: K > Na > Mg > Ca > Zn > Fe > Cu > Cr. The LDA model assigned in the initial classification showed 91.4% separation of samples, while for the cross-validation procedure, a percentage of 90% was obtained. δ2H, K, Rb, and Pd were identified as the most representative parameters to differentiate the pork meat samples coming from Romania vs. those from abroad. The mean values of metal concentrations were used to estimate the potential health risks associated with the consumption of pork meat The results showed that none of the analyzed metals (As, Cd, Sn, Pb, Cu, and Zn) pose a carcinogenic risk.

Elemental profiles of swine tissues as descriptors for the traceability of value-added Italian heavy pig production chains

The increasing demand for reliable traceability tools in the meat supply chain has prompted the exploration of innovative approaches that meet stringent quality standards. In this work, 57 elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and direct mercury analysis in 80 muscle and 80 liver samples of Italian heavy pigs to investigate the potential of new tools based on multi-elemental profiles in supporting value-added meat supply chains. Samples from three groups of animals belonging to the protected designation of origin (PDO) Parma Ham circuit (conventionally raised; raised with genetically modified organism (GMO)-free feeds; raised with GMO-free feeds plus the supplementation of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA)) and a fourth group of samples from animals not compliant with the PDO Parma Ham production process were analyzed. Hierarchical cluster analysis allowed for the identification of three macro-clusters of liver or muscle samples, highlighting some inhomogeneities among the target groups. Following SIMCA analysis, better classification models were obtained by using liver elemental profiles (95% correct classification rate), with the highest classification accuracy observed for GMO-free livers (100%). The elements contributing the most to the separation of livers by class membership were La, Ce, and Pb for conventional, Li, Cr, Fe, As, and Sr for GMO-free + n-3 PUFA, and Lu for non-PDO samples. Given these findings, the analysis of the elemental profiles of pig tissues can be regarded as a promising method to confirm the declared pig meat label attributes, deter potential complex fraud, and support meat traceability systems.

Rapid discrimination of the authenticity and geographical origin of bear bile powder using stable isotope ratio and elemental analysis

Bear bile powder (BBP) is one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicines derived from animals. It has a long history of medicinal use and is widely used in the treatment of hepatobiliary and ophthalmic diseases. Due to its similar morphological characterizations and chemical composition compared with other bile powders, it is difficult to accurately identify its authenticity. In addition, there are very few methods that could analyze the geographical origins of BBP. In this study, elemental analysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were used to determine stable isotope ratios and elemental contents, respectively. Combined these variables with chemometrics, the discrimination models were established successfully for identifying the authenticity and geographical origins of BBP. Meanwhile, the discrimination markers were identified by calculating the variable importance for the projection (VIP) value of each variable. A total of 13 discrimination markers (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, C, Li, Mg, K, Ca, Cr, Ni, Zn, As, Se, and Sr) were used to further establish the fingerprint of BBP. According to similarity analysis, the authenticity and geographical origins of BBP could be identified without chemometrics. In conclusion, the present study established a reliable method for authenticity identification and origin traceability of BBP, which will provide references for the quality control of bile medicines.

Occurrence of Toxic Metals and Metalloids in Muscle and Liver of Italian Heavy Pigs and Potential Health Risk Associated with Dietary Exposure

Muscle and liver tissues from Italian heavy pigs were analyzed to investigate whether the chronic consumption of these products by local consumers could represent a health risk in relation to the contamination by some toxic metals and metalloids (TMMs). The concentrations of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sn, U, and Zn were measured with an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer, while Hg analysis was performed by using a mercury analyzer. Fe, Zn, and Cu were the most abundant elements in both tissues, while U was detected only at ultra-trace levels. As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Pb, U, and Zn showed significantly higher concentrations in livers compared to muscles (p ≤ 0.01), with Cd and Cu being 60- and 9-fold more concentrated in the hepatic tissue. Despite this, concentrations of all TMMs were found to be very low in all the samples to the point that the resulting estimated dietary intakes did not suggest any food safety concern. Indeed, intakes were all below the toxicological health-based guidance values or resulted in low margins of exposure. Nevertheless, in the calculation of the worst-case exposure scenario, the children's estimated intake of Cd, Fe, and Zn through the sole consumption of pig liver contributed to more than 23, 38, and 39% of the tolerable weekly intakes of these elements, while the combined consumption of pig liver and pig muscle to more than 24, 46, and 76%. These findings alert about the probability of exceeding the toxicological guidance values of Cd, Fe, and Zn though the whole diet, suggesting long-term negative health effects for the younger population.

Isotopic and elemental characterization of Romanian pork meat in corroboration with advanced chemometric methods: A first exploratory study

In this study 93 pork meat samples (tenderloin) were analyzed via isotope ratios mass spectrometry (δ2H, δ18O, δ13C) and inductively coupled plasma - Mass spectrometry (55 elements). The meat samples are coming from Romania and abroad. Those from Romania are originating from conventional farms and yard rearing system. The analytical results in conjunction with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to assess: The geographical origin, and animal diet. The most powerful markers which could differentiate pork meat samples concerning the geographical origin were δ18O, terbium, and tin. The results of chemometric models showed that, along with 13C signature, rubidium concentration, and a few rare earth-elements (lanthanum, and cerium) were efficient to discriminate animal diet in a percent of 97.8% (initial classification) and 94.6% (cross-validation), respectively. Some of predictors for feeding regime differentiation by using LDA were identified also to be the best markers to distinguish corn-based diet by using ANNs (δ13C, Rb, La).

Screening of specific quantitative peptides of beef by LC-MS/MS coupled with OPLS-DA

A rapid, simple, and efficient analysis methodology for screening specific quantitative peptides of beef was established based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) coupled with orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The OPLS-DA model was built to select species-specific peptides that make a significant contribution to classification. Peptides with statistical significance were selected based on the variable importance in the projection (VIP) values and univariate P values. After the workflow of the statistical process, three specific quantitative peptides were identified by using homemade products with different beef contents. A quantification method for selected specific quantitative peptides was established by using LC-MS/MS. The quantitative results were applied to commercialized beef products. The developed method has high sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability. The results of this study proved that the integration of LC-MS/MS coupled with OPLS-DA is an efficient method for screening specific quantitative peptides and identification of the authenticity of meat products.

An overview on multi-elemental profile integrated with chemometrics for food quality assessment: toward new challenges

Food products, especially those with high value-added, are commonly subjected to strict quality controls, which are of paramount importance, especially for attesting to some peculiar features related, for instance, to their geographical origin and/or the know-how of their producers. However, the sophistication of fraudulent practices requires a continuous update of analytical platforms. Different analytical techniques have become extremely appealing since the instrumental analysis tools evolution has substantially improved the capability to reveal and understand the complexity of food. In light of this, multi-elemental composition has been successful implemented solving a plethora of food authentication and traceability issues. In the last decades, it has existed an ever-increasing trend in analysis based on spectrometry analytical platforms in order to obtain a multi-elemental profile that combined with chemometrics have been noteworthy analytical methodologies able to solve these problems. This review provides an overview of published reports in the last decade (from 2011 to 2021) on food authentication and quality control from their multi-element composition in order to evaluate the state-of-the-art of this field and to identify the main characteristics of applied analytical techniques and chemometric data treatments that have permit achieve accurate discrimination/classification models, highlighting the strengths and the weaknesses of these methodologies.

Dietary Behavior of Drosophila melanogaster Fed with Genetically-Modified Corn or Roundup®

With the rise in concern about GMOs and pesticides on human health, we have utilized Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism for understanding the effects of Roundup-Ready^® GMO diets on health. We recorded dietary behavior during and after exposure to a medium containing GMO or non-GMO corn, Roundup^® in organic corn medium, and sucrose with or without one of the two Roundup^® formulations. No differences in behavior were observed when Drosophila were exposed to a medium containing Roundup-Ready^® GMO or non-GMO corn. Drosophila can detect and refrain from eating sucrose containing one Roundup^® formulation, Ready-to-Use, which contains pelargonic acid in addition to glyphosate as an active ingredient. Drosophila exhibited dose-dependent increased consumption of sucrose alone after exposure to a medium containing either Roundup^® formulation. This may indicate that flies eating a medium with Roundup^® eat less and were thus hungrier when then given sucrose solution; that a medium with Roundup^® is more difficult to digest; or that a medium with Roundup^® is less nutritious, as would be the case if nutritionally important microbes grew on control medium, but not one containing Roundup^®.

Selected nutrients determining the quality of different cuts of organic and conventional pork

Organic meat products are gaining consumer interest worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of organic and conventional meat origin on nutritional determinants of the following pork meat cuts: loin, ham, and shoulder. Nutritional value of meat was based on selected indicators such as proximate composition, the concentration of cholesterol, vitamin E content and minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, and zinc, and the composition of fatty acids. The results of this study demonstrated that higher contents of protein and selected mineral compounds, as well as lower vitamin E concentration and different fatty acids (i.e., C12:0, C17:0, C17:1 n-7, C18:3 n-6, C24:0 and total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)) distinguish organic pork meat cuts from the conventional counterparts. The organically meat parts, especially the shoulder, were identified as a better source of copper, calcium, iron and zinc, while organic ham and loin had more potassium. On the other hand, organic hams were shown to have lower content of vitamin E in comparison to their conventional equivalents present. Also, in organic shoulders showed a higher n-6/n-3 ratio compared to meat of conventional origin.

Screening out important substances for distinguishing Chinese indigenous pork and hybrid pork and identifying different pork muscles by analyzing the fatty acid and nucleotide contents

Fatty acids and nucleotides are major contributors of pork flavor, which are key quality traits influencing consumers' preference. In this study, we investigated the contents of nucleotides (inosinic acid, inosine, and hypoxanthine) and 26 fatty acids by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography in longissimus dorsi and semimembranous muscle of four breeds (Dongbei Min pig, Beijing Black pig, Wuzhishan pig, and DLY pigs). Combining with multivariate statistics, we found significant differences in the nucleotides and fatty acids compositions among the breeds and muscles. Furthermore, the content of total unsaturated fatty acids and DHA were higher in native pigs than crossbred pigs. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding the composition of flavor precursor substances, as well as for the identification of different muscles.

Discrimination of mutton from different sources (regions, feeding patterns and species) by mineral elements in Inner Mongolia, China

The traceability of mineral element fingerprints to mutton in a small area of China was studied. The element data of 104 sheep and 24 goat samples from Inner Mongolia were measured, and the data were analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis from different origins, species and feeding patterns. The results shows that 11 elements (Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ba) in sheep meat had significant differences between different regions (P < 0.05), and the results of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) showed that the accuracy of the original classification rate was 95.2%, and the cross-validation rate was 85.9%. Goat meat and sheep meat samples from Alxa League were also clearly identified with LDA results showing that the cross-validation accuracy of the two species was 70.2%. Then the feeding patterns of sheep meat were effectively classified. The results showed that the multi-element analysis has certain potential as a method to distinguish mutton in a small area.

Study on the origin traceability of Tibet highland barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) based on its nutrients and mineral elements

The potential of traceability by nutrients and mineral elements in highland barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) from five cities in Tibet were investigated. The results showed that there were significant differences in nutrients and mineral elements in highland barley from different regions (P < 0.05). The original classification accuracy of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was 78.3%, and the discrimination accuracy of training set samples based on partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was over 65%. The results of correlation analysis show that five elements (Fe, Zn, K, Mn and P) in highland barley are related to the concentration of elements in soil, while three elements (Ca, Cu and Mg) in highland barley have no obvious correlation with soil, because the special natural environment in Tibet affecting the growth of highland barley. This indicates that the origin traceability of highland barley can be achieved by measuring its nutrients and mineral elements.

Elemental composition of pork meat from conventional and animal welfare farms by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and their authentication via multivariate chemometric analysis

The demand of consumers from around the world for natural, nutritional and palatable pork meat is increasing with time. This study analyzed macro (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P), micro (Fe, Zn, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Se, Sr, Cs), trace (Li, Be, V, Co, Ga, Ba, U), and toxic trace (As, Cd, TI, and Pb) elements of pork meat from conventional and animal welfare farms in South Korea. Among the elements analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission, and mass spectrometric (ICP-OES, ICP-MS) techniques, K, Fe, Mn, and Ni content were higher in animal welfare pork meat. The trace and toxic trace elements content were lower than the standard values. The principal component and linear discriminant analyses (PCA, LDA) explained the highest variance (99.82%, 99.00%) of the group based on toxic elements. These findings can thus be used to evaluate animal welfare and conventional farms pork meat quality in South Korea as well as worldwide.

Wójciak K. Peptides from Different Carcass Elements of Organic and Conventional Pork-Potential Source of Antioxidant Activity

The growing consumer interest in organic foods, as well as, in many cases, the inconclusiveness of the research comparing organic and conventional foods, indicates a need to study this issue further. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of meat origin (conventional vs. organic) and selected elements of the pork carcass (ham, loin, and shoulder) on the meat proteome and the antioxidant potential of its peptides. The peptidomic approach was used, while the ability of antioxidants to scavenge 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), to chelate Fe(II) ions, and to reduce Fe(III) was determined. Most peptides were derived from myofibrillary proteins. The meat origin and the element of the pork carcass did not have a significant effect on the proteome. On the other hand, the pork origin and the carcass element significantly affected the iron ion-chelating capacity (Fe(II)) and the reducing power of peptides. In particular, pork ham from conventional rearing systems had the best antioxidant properties in relation to potential antioxidant peptides. This could be a factor for human health, as well as for stabilized meat products (e.g., toward lipid oxidation).

Geographic origin discrimination of pork from different Chinese regions using mineral elements analysis assisted by machine learning techniques

Porkis thelargest-producedandmost-consumedmeat intheworld, and the food market globalization has increased public attention to food origin. Therefore, advanced techniques are required to determine the geographical origin of pork. This study investigated the prospects of using fingerprint analysis of mineral elements and machine learning to facilitate the traceability of pork origin in China. The results showed that each of seven regions had a characteristic element content profile. To improve the performance of the origin traceability model, popular machine learning techniques in food authenticity were introduced. This resulted in a high-performance origin tracing model. Comparing various machine learning algorithms, the feedforward neural network achieved superior performance with an overall accuracy of 95.71% and area under the curve close to one. Thus, this study proves that mineral elements analysis assisted by machine learning can be applied to distinguish pork samples within a country.

Authentication of organic pork and identification of geographical origins of pork in four regions of China by combined analysis of stable isotopes and multi-elements

The purpose of this study was to verify that the organic status of pork purchased in the markets from four different regions of China can be authenticated by the combined analysis of stable isotopes and multiple elements. Four stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H and δ¹⁸O) and the concentrations of seven elements (K, Na, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu and Se) were determined in organic and conventional pork samples from four locations of China. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to analyze stable isotope ratios and multi-element concentrations in pork. Based on the limited database of analytical values, the methodology would be potentially able to confirm whether a sample of pork came from the region and organic status it claimed. These results provide a possibility for authenticity of organic agricultural products from a large scope such as a province even a country.

Effects of Copper Sources and Levels on Lipid Profiles, Immune Parameters, Antioxidant Defenses, and Trace Element Residues in Broilers

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of copper sources and levels on lipid profiles, immune parameters, antioxidant defenses, and trace element contents of meat and liver in Arbor Acres broilers. A total of 504 male broilers were randomly divided into 7 groups with 6 replicates per group and 12 broilers per replicate. The experiment was used in a 3 × 2 + 1 factorial experiment design; broilers in the control group were fed a basal diet, and broilers in the other six groups were fed basal diets supplemented with 3 sources (copper sulfate, tribasic copper chloride, and copper methionate) and 2 levels (10 and 20 mg/kg). The results showed that the levels of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in broilers were significantly decreased with the increase of dietary copper level (P < 0.05). Serum IL-6 and IgA contents, ceruloplasmin and GSH-Px activities, and liver copper contents of broilers increased significantly with dietary copper levels (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, dietary copper supplementation significantly decreased serum cholesterol (P < 0.05) and significantly increased serum IL-6, ceruloplasmin, SOD, GSH-Px, and liver copper (P < 0.05). Dietary supplementation of basic copper chloride and copper methionate significantly decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol content and liver iron content (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary copper supplementation can effectively reduce serum cholesterol content and improve immune and antioxidant functions in broilers. Adding 20 mg/kg copper to broiler diet can increase the copper content in the liver, but it will not affect the copper content in the chicken.

Relationships of a Detailed Mineral Profile of Meat with Animal Performance and Beef Quality

Simply Summary

Minerals play direct or indirect role in different biological process of animals. These biological processes finally affect the meat quality. Therefore, analysis of minerals in cattle’s diet is important for assessing potential effects on beef quality. However, minerals profile and concentration in beef are affected by several factors such as animals rearing practices, age, environment, breed etc. Hence, we analyzed 20 minerals in 192 beef samples and studied the different sources of variation which affect the minerals profile in beef. In order to understand the complex and intriguing relations of beef qualities and minerals, we utilized correlation and factor analysis with 16 traits related to animal performance and beef quality. Our analysis shows many significant associations of minerals in beef with animal performance and beef qualities. Five groups of minerals (latent factors) were associated with almost all quality traits of beef. The knowledge about the mineral contents in beef is important to understand the complex interrelationships of animal rearing, farm management, environmental conditions with regard to animal performance and beef quality.

Abstract

The mineral profile of beef is a subject of human health interest, but also animal performance and meat quality. This study analyzes the relationships of 20 minerals in beef inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) with three animal performance and 13 beef quality traits analyzed on 182 samples of Longissimus thoracis. Animals’ breed and sex showed limited effects. The major sources of variation (farm/date of slaughter, individual animal within group and side/sample within animal) differed greatly from trait to trait. Mineral contents were correlated to animal performance and beef quality being significant 52 out of the 320 correlations at the farm/date level, and 101 out of the 320 at the individual animal level. Five latent factors explained 69% of mineral co-variation. The most important, “Mineral quantity” factor correlated with age at slaughter and with the beef color traits. Two latent factors (“Na + Fe + Cu” and “Fe + Mn”) correlated with performance and beef color traits. Two other (“K-B-Pb” and “Zn”) correlated with beef chemical composition and the latter also with carcass weight and daily gain, and beef color traits. Beef cooking losses correlated with “K-B-Pb”. Latent factor analysis appears be a useful means of disentangling the very complex relationships that the minerals in beef have with animal performance and beef quality traits.

A regional approach for the calculation of characteristic toxicity factors using the USEtox model

The lack of the spatial coverage as one of the main limitations of the Life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models leads to disagreement between their results. The USEtox model is only model that provides 8 continental and 17 subcontinental zones but does not consider the wind and water transfers affected areas around the source of pollution. Current investigation proposes the way to reduce this limitation by using the results of chemical analysis (instrumental neutron activation analysis "INAA") of pork meat as a regional indicator of anthropogenic influence. The concentration coefficient of Cr by replacing the Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) is extrapolated into the calculation of Exposure factor (XF) to modify Characterization factor (CF). Impacted and clean areas of Tomsk district (Russia) placed around Northern industrial hub (Seversk city) are studied. Neither area is located directly in the industrial hub, but the impacted area is under an anthropogenic influence due to air and water transfer of pollution. Results of our investigation present the difference between results of own investigation and default values of USEtox. Probably the model can minimize the impact because of lack of experiment data in the database. The database can be extended more with other analytical results for wide range of metals and geographical locations.

Systematic study of the quality and safety of chilled pork from wet markets, supermarkets, and online markets in China

BACKGROUND

With increasing media coverage of food safety incidents, such as that of clenbuterol residues in pork, food safety has become a major public health concern in China. Rapidly developing online markets attract increasing numbers of Chinese consumers to purchase food on the Internet. However, the quality and safety of food sold online are uncertain and are less reported on.

OBJECTIVE

This research aimed to systematically study the quality and safety of chilled pork from wet markets, supermarkets, and online markets in China.

RESULTS

The chilled pork samples from online markets were fresher than those from wet markets and supermarkets based on the surface redness (a* value). Chilled pork contained high levels of nutritional elements, especially the magnesium and phosphorus levels in samples from online markets. The levels of heavy metal element residues and veterinary drug residues in all chilled pork samples were within the standards limits. In addition, huge differences existed in the quality and freshness of the chilled pork samples from online markets according to principal component analysis (PCA).

CONCLUSIONS

Most chilled pork sold in Chinese markets was qualified and safe. It is necessary to establish an effective online market supervision system for chilled pork.

Is ecological food also radioecological? - 210Po and 210Pb studies

Presented are results of a study on accumulation of naturally occurring ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in ecological and conventional farming food products in Poland: fruits, vegetables and cereals. The main idea behind this research was to determine the activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in ecological and commercial food as well as calculate and compare the effective dose (radiation) connected to different origin of analyzed food products consumption. The studies showed the majority of all compared food samples contained similar ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb activities and statistically, the consumption of organic and commercial food would give similar annual effective dose.

Mineral composition and toxic element levels of muscle, liver and kidney of intensive (Swedish Landrace) and extensive (Mangulica) pigs from Serbia

Mineral composition (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Cr, Co, Ni, Na, K, Mg, Ca) and toxic element levels (Cd, Pb, Hg, As) of soil, feed and tissue (muscle, liver and kidney) from intensive (Swedish Landrace, housed indoors, fed a known diet, 4 years) and extensive (Mangulica, free-roaming, non-specified diet, 7-8 months) pigs were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Controlled nutrition produced pigs with higher concentrations of most minerals (muscle: Mn, Se, K, Mg; liver: Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, Cr, Ca; kidney: Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, K, Mg), but for Fe the opposite trend was found. Long-term free-ranging pigs have a higher risk of contamination by toxic elements (Cd exceeded the maximum residue level in kidney). Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to assess the effect of different pig breed/lifestyle (pig type) on element composition of muscle, liver and kidney of pigs. Multivariate data analysis showed good discriminating capabilities.