Effects of regular control of food colours content in meat products in Serbia

Research of added food colours presence in meat products was carried out for a period of almost six years, as a continuance of previous study on market in Serbia. Improved method of high performance liquid chromatography was applied for identification and quantification od added colours in meat products. The colours were determined in variety of meat products, smoked meat and bacon, fermented sausages and heat-treated dry sausages, boiled sausages, cooked sausages, canned meat and meat meals, meat semiproducts and mechanically separated meat and, as a separated category, sea fish pastes, both from domestic market and from import. Over the 1400 products were analysed. The research results showed great improvement both in content of colours and labelling of products of meat products in Serbia.

Impact of Processing Technology on Macro- and Micronutrient Profile of Protein-Enriched Products from Fish Backbones

Impacts of processing technology (mechanical separation and pH-shift processing) on protein recovery from salmon, herring and cod backbones and the content of macro- and micronutrients in the recovered protein enriched products were investigated. Mechanical separation led to higher protein recovery compared with the pH-shift process and using both techniques, recovery ranked the species as herring > salmon > cod. However, the pH-shift process up-concentrated protein from herring and salmon backbones more efficiently than mechanical separation by removing more fat and ash. This consequently reduced n-3 PUFA and vitamin D content in their protein isolates compared with the backbones and mechanically separated meat (MSM). Cod protein isolate, however, contained higher levels of these nutrients compared with MSM. Mechanical separation concentrated vitamins E and C in salmon MSM but not for cod and herring. Opposite, pH-shift processing reduced levels of these two vitamins for cod and herring backbones, while vitamins D and C were reduced for salmon. For minerals, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium were lower in protein isolates than MSM, while copper, zinc, iron and manganese were similar or higher. Overall, there is a major potential for upcycling of fish backbones to food ingredients, but processing technology should be carefully balanced against the desired nutrient profile and final application area.

Production and characterization of emulsified fish mortadella from Nile tilapia (Oreochromus niloticus)

This study produced fish mortadella from Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM) of Nile tilapia added with animal fat. Three formulations were developed: M1 (MSM - 89 % and 5 % pork fat), M2 (MSM - 84 % and 10 % pork fat) and M3 (MSM - 79 % and 15 % pork fat). The elaborated products were tested for technological, physical, physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory parameters. The results showed that the fish mortadella were microbiologically stable with a particular texture for an emulsified meat product, attractive colour and characteristic flavour. All formulations met the expected identity and quality requirements. They also achieved good acceptance by the judges, in which formulation M1 may be highlighted for presenting an emulsion stability of 97 %, higher protein content (18.09 %) and lower lipids (16.31 %). In addition, it also reached higher mean scores for texture attributes and purchase intent. Therefore, it is possible to prepare fish mortadellas from tilapia MSM using less animal fat.

CRITERIONAL FEATURES OF STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FINE TEXTILE MEAT

Poultry meat mechanically separated from broiler carcasses and compared with minced meat from manual deboning was studied. It has been found that an increase in the free moisture content of mechanically separated meat by 10-15% causes a reduction in shear characteristics by almost 2 times. The shear stress values ​​in hand-rolled meat samples were, on average, 1.3 times higher than in physico-chemically similar samples of mechanically separated meat. The samples of hand-rolled meat differed by 1.4 times the values ​​of plastic viscosity, as well as larger, on average 1.5 times, the values ​​of the coefficient of consistency. A set of rheological parameters and their limit values, close to the characteristics of minced meat from manual deboning, namely: the maximum shear stress (penetration) - from 1.9 kPa to 2.2 kPa; plastic viscosity - from 33 Pa • s to 45 Pa • s; coefficient of consistency - from 1.4 to 1.7. It has been established that the most important factors influencing the difference between the rheological parameters of mechanically separated meat and hand-rolled meat are the fat content and the degree of grinding. The reduction of fat content, processing pressure, as well as the speed of grinding of raw materials allows to bring the rheological characteristics of mechanically separated meat to the characteristics of manual deboning meat. The nature of the change in the rheological properties of meat mechanically separated over time is revealed: during the first stage (lasts about 2-3 hours) the structure remains unchanged, the second stage is the period of growth of all indicators to the maximum value, this is the period of critical aging. Further aging (third period) is characterized by a decrease in the numerical values ​​of all indicators, due to a decrease in the strength of the structure under the action of a complex of microbiological and biochemical processes. The study of the rheological properties of mechanically separated meat of broiler chickens and the comparison of the obtained indicators with the corresponding characteristics of minced meat formed by mincing hand-rolled meat, gave grounds for concluding on the possibility and expediency of mechanically separated meat in meat products.

Valorization of agroindustry waste for the elaboration of fishburgers

Waste production derived from agroindustry (bark, bagasse and seeds) has been increasing in Brazil. The cultivation of cashew to produce chestnuts and products obtained from cashew peduncle has generated a large amount of residue. Therefore, the objective of this study was to elaborate Nile tilapia fishburger with addition of cashew residue flour (CRF) and evaluate its microbiological and physicochemical characteristics. Three formulations F0, F1 and F2 (0%, 5% and 10% CRF, respectively) were elaborated as a substitute for mechanically separated meat (MSM) from Nile tilapia. The results of the microbiological analyzes of CRF and fishburgers were satisfactory, according to standards established by the Brazilian legislation. Fishburger formulations showed low lipid and high protein content. The analysis of centesimal composition showed that there was no significant difference (p≥0.05) between the formulations (except water content and carbohydrate). The results show the elaboration of new products based on the residues of agroindustry provides greater access of fish products to different social classes and waste valorization. CRF has been applied to fishburger formulations satisfactorily, helping to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the disposal of this agroindustrial waste.

NUGGETS PREPARED USING MECHANICALLY SEPARATED MEAT (MSM) OBTAINED FROM TILAPIA CARCASSES AND CASSAVA DOUGH

The aim of this study was to develop Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM) nuggets produced using tilapia fillet residues (obtained from the filleting process performed at the Fish Market in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil) and cassava dough. Five nugget formulations were developed, and the following microbiological analyses were performed: Escherichia coli counts, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus counts, and Salmonella sp. detection. Physicochemical analyses were also carried out concerning moisture content, ash, protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calories, water activity and pH. A sensory analysis was performed by untrained tasters concerning color, aroma, flavor, texture, global acceptance, and purchase intention. The microbiological analyses results indicate that both the tilapia MSM and the prepared nuggets exhibited suitable hygienic sanitary standard for human consumption. The physicochemical assessments indicated a nutrient-rich product. Regarding the sensory analysis, good nugget acceptance was observed. In conclusion, the use of tilapia MSM to produce nuggets is a good way to use carcasses that would otherwise be discarded, and cassava dough up to 21.5% may be used for nugget production.