Veterinary drug residues in meat: Concerns and rapid methods for detection.

2007

The use of substances having hormonal or thyreostatic action as well as β-agonists is banned in the European Union. However, sometimes forbidden drugs may be added to feeds for illegal administration to farm animals for promoting increased muscle development or increased water retention and thus obtain an economical benefit. The result is a fraudulent overweight of meat but, what is worse, residues of these substances may remain in meat and may pose a real threat to the consumer either through exposure to the residues, transfer of antibiotic resistance or allergy risk. This has exerted a great concern among European consumers. The control of the absence of these forbidden substances in anim…

Antilisterial peptides from Spanish dry-cured hams: Purification and identification.

2016

The typical Spanish dry-cured ham has a particular sensory quality that makes it a distinctive food, highly appreciated for consumers worldwide. Its particular physicochemical properties, such as high salt content and reduced water activity contribute to their shelf-stability. However, post-processing actions carried out for the commercialization of these products such as slicing may increase the risk of development of pathogenic microorganisms as Listeria monocytogenes. During ripening, muscle proteins are hydrolyzed by muscle peptidases releasing peptides and free amino acids. Some of these peptides have been described to exert biological activities such as antioxidant and ACE-inhibition.…

Application of non-invasive technologies in dry-cured ham: An overview

2019

Background: Dry-cured ham is one of the most valued food products by Mediterranean consumers. In this sense, the appropriate development of its different production stages is essential to ensure the quality requirements. For this reason, non-invasive technologies have gained popularity and have been reported as useful not only to ensure the food safety of different products, but also to monitor fundamental stages in the production process, such as the salting stage, to analyze the content of different compounds without sample losses, and to correct possible defects in the final product. Scope and approach: This work has been focused on summarizing the studies that describe and have successf…

Bioactive peptides as natural antioxidants in food products - A review

2018

Background: Diseases related to oxidative stress and food quality decay are of major concern worldwide as they can lead to economic losses in both public health and food production. The antioxidant peptides, extracted from food proteins, can be explored as natural new drug and food ingredient. Scope and approach Antioxidant peptides are extracted from non-antioxidant precursor proteins from different origin by the activity of either proteolytic microorganisms or isolated enzymes. In the present review, the main sources of bioactive peptides will be discussed. Moreover, the current strategies to obtain these compounds as well as their health benefits and in vivo biological effects will be ev…

Veterinary Drugs and Growth Promoters Residues in Meat and Processed Meats

2009

Microencapsulation of antioxidant compounds through innovative technologies and its specific application in meat processing

2018

Background Meat has a complex physical structure and chemical composition that is very prone to oxidation. Plants are sources of biologically active compounds (antioxidants) of interest as potential raw materials for meat processing, primary as replacements for synthetic additives. Some examples are essential oils from aromatic plants that are usually unstable under common processing and storage conditions and exhibit strong smell and off flavour. Hence, stable delivery systems like encapsulation are required. Scope and approach Encapsulation, and particularly spray-drying, offers protection of active compounds, their controlled and targeted release in food products and ability to mask unac…

Challenges and opportunities regarding the use of alternative protein sources: Aquaculture and insects

2019

The world population is constantly growing so that the needs of food, including protein sources, will also increase considerably in the coming years. Animal farming has been related to numerous environmental consequences such as soil erosion, exaggerated water consumption, generation of large quantities of waste and accumulation of greenhouse gases. This is a situation that demonstrates the suitability and importance of finding more sustainable protein alternatives without losing the quality and the nutritional benefits of current common protein sources. In this context, it is worth highlighting the potential of insects and products derived from aquaculture. Particularly, farmed aquatic foo…

Main characteristics of peanut skin and its role for the preservation of meat products

2018

Background The produced peanuts by-products are a huge challenge, but they are recognized to be a source of valuable nutrients, including natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. Antioxidants are considered as necessary ingredients in food to prevent oxidative reactions and their undesirable effects in food quality during processing and storage. However, the use of such compounds is regulated due to their harmful effects revealed by in vitro and in vivo studies. The use of natural antioxidants appears as an interesting alternative for food producers, particularly meat industries. Scope and approach Peanut skin (PS), a by-product of peanut processing in agro-industries, constitutes an under-…