On the question of the amino acid composition of pork with quality defects

Abstract

The article presents the results of determining the amino acid composition of pork with quality defects, such as PSE, DFD, RSE, RFN and PFN. Meat is one of the traditional sources of high-grade protein, the nutritional and biological value of which depends on the ratio of essential and non-essential amino acids that make up these proteins. The nutritional value and amino acid composition of meat proteins are influenced by various factors, such as the type of animal and breed, gender and age, feeding, storage conditions and others. As part of the implementation of the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation, much attention is paid to improving the quality and rational use of meat and other slaughter products, including those with quality defects such as PSE and DFD. In addition to defects PSE (pale, soft, exudative) and DFD (dark, hard, dry) for pork, there are three more categories: PFN — pale, hard, non-exudative (pH 5.58); RSE — red, soft, exudative (pH 5.67); RFN — red, hard, nonexudative (pH 5.71). The purpose of the research was to evaluate the amino acid composition of pork with quality defects. The research was carried out in the conditions of the educational and research center for the examination of food and animal feed of the St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine in the period 2021-2022. The materials for the study were 66 samples of pork of various quality categories (11 samples of each category). For the tests, point samples were taken from different muscle groups, then a combined sample was made and sample preparation was carried out according to the M method-04-94-2021 "Determination of amino acids in food products". The amino acid composition of the studied samples was determined according to the M method-04-94-2021 "Determination of amino acids in food products" on the device "Kapel-105M" (GC "LUMEX"), with an autosampler and an automatically switched polarity. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the content of interchangeable and essential amino acids in pork of different quality categories depended on the type of amino acids and the quality category of pork. It should be noted that information about the amino acid composition of pork with quality defects should be taken into account in the production of meat products at processing plants.