Biogenic Amines and Aflatoxins in Some Imported Meat Products: Incidence, Occurrence, and Public Health Impacts

Background. Since the beginning of humanity, the global burden of foodborne disease has had a decimating effect on populations, with biogenic amines (BAs) and aflatoxins in meat products implicated. While many developed countries have legitimized safety levels for BAs using evidence-based guidelines to attain high food quality standards for consumers of meat products, developing countries are still battling against poor food quality checking. Purpose. This study examines the level of health risk of biogenic amines and aflatoxin in meat products by extracting and estimating their residues and determining their indices as a way of monitoring the potential health impacts of these residues on consumers of meat products. Methods. A total of 40 imported meat products sampled and randomly collected, representing imported luncheon meat, hot dog sausages, corned beef, and minced meat. Using recommended laboratory protocols, eight residues of BAs and aflatoxins were extracted. Results. Eight BAs, histamine, tyramine, tryptamine, cadaverine, putrescine, β-phenyl ethylamine, spermine, and spermidine, were extracted and determined in all tested samples. Tyramine levels in luncheon meat were found to be significantly higher than in other meat products, while significantly high cadaverine levels were reported in corned beef samples. The results of biogenic amine index (BAI) revealed that the quality of imported minced meat and imported hot dog samples was good (BAI < 5 mg/kg), while imported luncheon meat and imported corned beef samples remained acceptable (BAI 5–20 mg/kg). Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was detected higher than the permissible limit (>5 µg/kg) in imported luncheon meat and imported hot dog meat samples. Conclusion. The general results indicate that testing meat products for biogenic amines and aflatoxins is a very good indicator for monitoring the freshness and quality of meat products.

FATTY ACIDS CHEMICAL QUALITY OF COOKED CHICKEN LUNCHEON MEAT PRODUCT PRODUCED BY THE USE OF FAT REPLACERS

Nowadays, there is a great interest regarding demand for foods with low-fat meat products to decrease the risk of nutritional diseases. Several strategies had been reported to reduce fat contents of meat products. The term fat replacer is used to describe a wide variety of products that replace some or all of the fat in foods. In the last years, chicken luncheon meat became one of the most commonly widely marketed and distributed meat products all over the world due to its delicious taste and cheap price. In this study, the chemical quality of the chicken luncheon meat produced either by; sun flower oil, sun flower oil and sodium alginate, sun flower oil, sodium alginate and rice flour, sun flower oil, sodium alginate, rice flour and gum Arabic as fat replacers was evaluated according to market reference toward production of new chicken meat luncheon of low fat, cholesterol and calories. The results revealed that application of fat replacers in cooked chicken luncheon meat enhanced the quality of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids improving its nutritional value.

Love! Spam

This chapter narrates the tale of Okinawan identity through an unusual medium, Spam, the gelatinous pink lunchmeat that accompanied the American military in its imperialist expansion across the Pacific. Spam and similar competitors were welcomed by Okinawans as luxuries following the exigencies of the war and were soon adapted and indigenized as an ingredient in popular local dishes like pōku tamago (pork and eggs) and chanpurū (mixed stir-fry). The chapter shows how luncheon meat created a powerful narrative space to express discordant emotions and attitudes: memories of war and militarized occupation, gendered nostalgia for “home cooking,” and feelings of distinction from, and marginalization by, mainlanders.

Evaluation of the thermal processing of meat products in cylindrical cans using the General and Computer methods

Cylindrical cans (73x109 mm) were filled with luncheon meat and corned beef were sterilized with steam at 121.1°C for 96 and 91 min, respectively. The evaluation of the thermal processing was made using the General method and a Computer method. The General method used the experimental temperatures recorded by thermocouples while the Computer method predicted the internal temperatures of foods in cylindrical cans, using the finite difference numerical solution of heat conduction equation. By the end of heating at 121.1 °C and following cooling, comparison of the (Fo) value and the decimal reduction (log D121.1) of the initial population of the Clostridium botulinum at the geometric centre of the can for both examined meat products, estimated by the General method with those estimated by the Computer method, showed that there was no any significant difference between them (P>0.05). Comparison of recorded temperatures at the geometric centre of cans of both meat products with those estimated by the Computer method showed that, there was no any significant difference between them (P>0.05) during heating at 121.1 ° C, but a significant difference between them (P<0.05) was observed by the end of cooling.

Metal food packaging design based on hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system in canned food safety

This study aims to design metal food packaging with hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP). First, theory of HACCP was introduced in detail. Taking empty cans provided by Wuxi Huapeng Food Packaging Company as an example, we studied migration of bisphenol compounds in coating of food can to food stimulant. Moreover, packaging design of luncheon meat can was taken as an example to confirm whether HACCP system could effectively control migration of phenolic substance. Results demonstrated that, coating of such empty were more likely to contain multiple bisphenol compounds such as bisphenol A (BPA), and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) was considered as the leading bisphenol pollutant; food stimulant of different types, storage temperature and time could all impact migration of bisphenol compounds. HACCP system was proved to be effective in controlling hazards of phenolic substance in luncheon meat can and could reduce various phenolic substance indexes to an acceptable range. Therefore, HACCP can control migration of phenolic substance and recontamination of food and thus ensure food safety.

Listeria monocytogenes: An emerging food-borne pathogen and its public health implications

Introduction: Listeria monocytogenes is considered one of the most important food-borne pathogens transmitted to humans via contaminated food. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the importance of L. monocytogenes as a food-borne pathogen. Methodology: A total of 340 samples were collected from different localities in El Giza Governorate, Egypt, to check the occurrence of L. monocytogenes in that area. The collected samples comprised 250 food samples, 40 swabs from food refrigerators, and 50 stool specimens from diarrheic children. L. monocytogenes was isolated from the examined samples according to the International Organization for Standardization. The isolates were tested biochemically using Listeria Microbact 12L and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Results: The isolation rates of L. monocytogenes were 8% in beef burger, 4% in minced meat, 4% in luncheon meat, while sausage samples were all negative. Eight percent of raw milk samples were positive for L. monocytogenes, whereas cheese samples and refrigerator swabs were negative. Only Listeria grayi was isolated from human stools (2.5%). Conclusion: The high isolation rates of L. monocytogenes among the examined food stuffs highlight the crucial role of food as an important vehicle for this pathogen. More efforts should be made to ensure safe handling and processing of these foods to reduce the transmission of L. monocytogenes to humans.

Amerikamun: Consuming America and Ambivalence toward the U.S. Presence in Postwar Okinawa

After the U.S. victory in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, devastated Okinawans lived off of U.S. military rations, including unfamiliar foods such as pork luncheon meat and corned beef hash. Okinawans incorporated these and other U.S.-made goods into daily life as “Amerikamun,” literally meaning “American products,” but loaded with postwar Okinawan perceptions of America, its military, and the social contexts of the goods themselves. Connotations have shifted over the postwar period, at times suggesting Okinawan appropriation of American power through consumption of “luxurious” (jōtō) U.S. goods, but throughout the postwar period reminding Okinawans of American domination during the occupation and the unwelcome aspects of continuous U.S. military basing. “American Village,” which is a hybrid, American-style shopping mall and resort, is a concretization of this ambivalence, as multiple generations of Okinawans now have the opportunity to inscribe and reinscribe the meaning of Amerikamun on their landscape.