Study on the quality and myofibrillar protein structure of chicken breasts during thawing of ultrasound-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW)

The effects of air thawing (AT), water thawing (WT), slightly acidic electrolyzed water (ET), ultrasound-assisted water thawing (WUT) and ultrasound-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (EUT) on the quality and myofibrillar protein (MP) structure of chicken breasts were investigated. The results showed that WUT and EUT could significantly improve the thawing rate compared with AT, WT, and ET groups. The EUT group not only had lower thawing loss, but also their immobilized and free water contents were similar to fresh sample according to the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF NMR) results. The EUT treatment had no adverse effect on the primary structure of the protein. The secondary and tertiary structures of MP were more stable in the EUT group according to Raman and fluorescence spectra. The muscle fibers microstructure from EUT group was neater and more compact compared with other thawing methods. Therefore, EUT treatment could be considered as a novel potential thawing method in the food industry.     

The effect of gamma irradiation on the viscosity of two barley cultivars for broiler chicks

Seeds of two barley cultivars (Local Black and Shoaa) were gamma irradiated at 0, 10, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kGy doses using Cobalt-60 source to decrease the viscosity. The viscosity was determined in the flour of the seeds using Ostwald U-tube viscometer. The viscosity values were reduced by 25%, 50%, 65%, 72% and 74% in Local Black barley cultivar, while, in Shoaa cultivar the reductions were 15%, 30%, 52%, 69% and 67% at 10, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kGy, respectively. The chemical compositions of the seeds were determined in all treatments.     

Systemic cost-effectiveness analysis of food hazard reduction – Campylobacter in Danish broiler supply

An integrated microbiological–economic framework for policy support is developed to determine the cost-effectiveness of alternative intervention methods and strategies to reduce the risk of Campylobacter in broilers. Four interventions at the farm level and four interventions at the processing stage are considered. Cost analyses are conducted for different risk reduction targets and for three alternative scenarios concerning the acceptable range of interventions. Results demonstrate that using a system-wide policy approach to risk reduction can be more cost-effective than a policy focusing purely on farm-level interventions. Allowing for chemical decontamination methods may enhance cost-effectiveness of intervention strategies further.     

用稳定同位素质谱技术检测肉鸡色素的来源

通过分析肉鸡中稳定同位素δ13C值和δ15N值,推断肉鸡色素的来源,证明稳定同位素质谱技术可以作为调查动物饲料来源、追溯动物产品的方法。结果表明:添加色素组,随着色素添加量的增加RCF值显著升高(P<0.05);撤除色素后,各处理间的RCF值差异不显著(P>0.05);鸡肉粗蛋白中δ13C值在撤除色素前后的差异不显著(P>0.05)。饲喂不同含量的玉米组,随着玉米含量的增加,各组的RCF值有显著的差异(P<0.05);当饲料中玉米的含量由10%换成70%时,鸡爪的RCF值大幅度升高(P<0.05),反之,鸡爪的RCF值大幅度降低(P<0.05);鸡肉粗蛋白中δ13C值随着玉米含量的变化呈现显著差异(P<0.05)。另外,添加色素组和饲喂玉米组,当RCF值相同时,鸡肉粗蛋白中δ13C值有显著差异。     

Use of ultrasound as a pre-treatment for vacuum cooling process of cooked broiler breasts

In this study, ultrasound application at two different frequencies (37 or 80 kHz) and durations (15 or 30 min) was used as a pre-treatment for raw broiler breasts, and its effect on cooling, color, textural and sensory characteristics of cooked broiler breasts during vacuum cooling process was determined. The anterior and posterior parts of broiler breast halves were carefully removed, and these parts with a 20 mm width were named as the regions A and B, respectively. Both regions were vacuum-packed and pre-treated by ultrasound, followed by oven-cooking in aluminum foils, and cooling time, weight loss and temperature distribution characteristics were determined. Besides sensory and textural properties, the effect of the ultrasound pre-treatment on the pH, dry matter and ash contents and color (CIELAB) values of cooked breasts was determined. During vacuum cooling, ultrasound pre-treatment significantly reduced cooling time required to cool cooked broiler breasts from 85 °C to 12.5 °C, and the lowest values for the regions A and B were obtained for the 30 min ultrasound pre-treatment at 37 kHz as 12.72 and 14.61 min, respectively (p < 0.05). The cooling losses of breasts from the regions A and B were 12.64 and 11.61%, respectively. In comparison to immersion pre-treatment, increasing the frequency and duration of ultrasound pre-treatment generally decreased cooking loss values for both A and B regions while cooling loss increased. Instrumental hardness values of breast samples for the 15 min ultrasound pre-treatment decreased while they increased with the 30 min pre-treatment (p < 0.05) at both frequencies. The redness values (a*) increased by ultrasound pre-treatment while the highest value was found for a 30 min pre-treatment at 80 kHz for both regions. Sensory hardness (on a 14.5 cm scale) results indicated that the highest value (9.33) was determined for a 30 min ultrasound pre-treatment at 37 kHz while the ultrasound pre-treatment at 37 kHz for 15 min had no negative effect on hardness compared to control samples (p > 0.05). In conclusion, ultrasound pre-treatment can be successfully used for the vacuum cooling process of broiler breasts for the reduction of cooling time, and a 30 min ultrasound pre-treatment at 37 kHz can provide relatively superior cooling characteristics.