Bovine Meat Products Research Articles

Dynamic implications of the biological link between bovine milk and meat production for operationalizing the planetary health diet.

The EAT-Lancet planetary health diet (PHD) provides guidelines on a global scale and calls for red meat consumption to be halved. Operational PHD guidelines at country level have yet to be determined. Here we argue that the biological link between milk and bovine-meat production must be considered when operationalizing the globally calculated PHD to national contexts. Using a stylized computer simulation model rooted in a food system approach, we explore the impact of dietary scenarios on milk and bovine-meat production and show that ignoring this biological link can lead to substantial imbalances between national dietary guidelines and production outcomes and potentially lead to food waste. Furthermore, we assess current national dietary guidelines in Europe and find that most disregard this biological link and are incompatible with the PHD, with implications for policymakers and consumers to consider when adapting the PHD in national contexts.

A study on enhancement of red meat production and consumption estimation methods in Türkiye

AbstractIt is necessary to estimate the number of animals slaughtered outside slaughterhouses in countries like Türkiye, where slaughterings in non-slaughterhouses are relatively high. This paper presents the estimation of red meat production including all slaughterings both in slaughterhouses and in non-slaughterhouses by using a re-established model based on change in the inventory of animals including imported and exported animals, slaughtering rate for the slaughtered animals raised domestically in Türkiye, and total red meat consumption per capita per year in Türkiye. Total red meat production in Türkiye was estimated as 1 million 952 thousand 38 tonnes, bovine meat production was estimated as 1 million 471 thousand 550 tonnes, sheep and goats meat production was estimated as 480 thousand 488 tonnes in 2021. Total red meat human consumption per capita in Türkiye was estimated as 23 kg carcass weight per capita per year and 17 kg retail weight per capita per year. 17 kg of total red meat human consumption came from bovine meat, and 6 kg came from sheep and goats meat. According to the result of cluster analysis of European countries, Türkiye was clustered in the group of lowest total red meat consumption with Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, and Serbia.

The Role of Starch in Shaping the Rheo-Mechanical Properties of Fat-in-Water Emulsions

The DMA technique was used to conduct experiments on the rheo-mechanical properties of emulsified bovine fat meat products stabilised with potato starch. Starch gels with starch concentrations corresponding to the concentration of starch in water in the emulsions under analysis were used as control systems. The research showed that the rheo-mechanical properties of starch gels and starch–fat gels result from the conformational changes occurring within the structural elements of their spatial network. In starch gels, segments formed by complex associations of amylose chains are structural elements, whereas in starch–fat gels (emulsions) these are additionally amylose–fat complexes. Changes occurring during progressive retrogradation increase the degree of cross-linking in them. In starch gels, they are conditioned by the starch concentration, whereas in emulsions they are conditioned by the concentration of starch and the presence of fat. The parameters obtained by adjusting the Avrami equation to the data obtained with the DMA method enabled the determination of three forms of organisation of the dispersion structure of starch–fat systems. Each of these forms of structure organisation is conditioned by the concentration of starch in the emulsion system.

Bacteriological Status and Prevalence of Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli in Bovine Meat Products with a Reduction Trial Using Acetic and Citric Acids

Bacteriological Status and Prevalence of Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli in Bovine Meat Products with a Reduction Trial Using Acetic and Citric Acids

Residual contents of the toxic metals (lead and cadmium), and the trace elements (copper and zinc) in the bovine meat and dairy products: residues, dietary intakes, and their health risk assessment

Residual content of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in the retailed meat and dairy products in Egypt was estimated. Calculation of estimated weekly intake (EWI) and health risks was followed. Results revealed detection of tested metals in all samples at variable concentrations with higher Pb and Cd than maximum permissible limits. However, the calculated EWI did not exceed the provisional tolerable weekly intake established by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, calculation of the hazard ratio and index for mixed metal contaminants did not exceed one, indication that products consumption would not pose adverse effects on consumers.

Evaluation of the microbiological status of some retailed bovine meat and dairy-products with an improvement trial for the beef mince using acetic and lactic acids

Bovine meat and dairy-products are among the important sources for animal-derived protein, vitamins, and minerals. Meat and dairy products can be contaminated during processing, distribution, and storage, and can be implicated in the transmission of many foodborne pathogens worldwide. This study was undertaken to investigate the microbiological status of some bovine meat products (beef mince, sausage, luncheon, and basterma), and some dairy products (raw milk, dried milk powder, yoghurt, and kariesh cheese) retailed in the food markets in in Zagazig city, Egypt. Evaluation of the sanitary status of these products were done via estimation of total bacterial count (TBC), total psychrophilic count (TPsC), coliforms count, total Staphylococci count (TSC) and total mold count (TMC). A trial for improvement of the microbiological status of the beef mince was conducted using acetic and lactic acids at different concentrations. The achieved results indicated unsatisfactory sanitary status of the examined products in the present study, in terms of high microbial counts. A clear and significant reduction for the microbial load was achieved after treatment of the beef mince with acetic and lactic, particularly at 2%.

Enterotoxin Production and Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Meat Samples

Objective: Staphylococcal food poisoning is a major human disease that is causes by the ingestion of food contaminated by staphylococcal enterotoxins produced mainly by enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the public health risks of the raw meat samples marketed in Giresun and Trabzon provinces regarding the contamination of Staphylococcus aureus, enterotoxin capacity of the isolates and their resistance to various antibiotics. Material and Method: A total of 30 raw bovine meat products and 38 raw chicken meat products were analyzed for micrococci/staphylococci and total staphylococci. The identification and antibiotic resistance of isolates were determined with the VITEK 2 device. Classical type enterotoxin presence in staphylococcal isolates was determined and typed using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay technique. Results: The microbial loads of micrococci/staphylococci were 101 to 105 cfu/g and total staphylococci 101 to 105 cfu/g, respectively in 68 meat samples. A total of 171 staphylococci organisms were isolated from the studied 68 meat samples. Among the isolates obtained, one isolate (1.03%) detected in the raw chicken meat was found to be Staphylococcus aureus. This isolate was found to have the ability of producing enterotoxin and to produce E type enterotoxin. S.aureus isolate was resistant only to benzylpenicillin, while it was sensitive to other antibiotics. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that antibiotic-resistant and enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus poses a significant hygienic risk for consumers. Due to the posing a risk for staphylococcal food poisoning cases and threatening public health over time, extensive studies should be conducted on this subject.

Complexo respiratório bovino no contexto da sanidade animal

O Complexo das Doenças Respiratórias de Bovinos (CRB) é caracterizado pela infecção do trato respiratório dos animais podendo ser de origem viral, bacteriana ou através da associação de ambos. O CRB tem sido identificado como uma das mais importantes causas de morbidade e mortalidade de criações intensivas, principalmente em animais jovens, causando sérios prejuízos econômicos com o uso de medicamentos para tratamento dos animais e perdas significativas de peso, afetando diretamente a cadeia produtiva da carne bovina. Uma das principais medidas preventivas realizadas do CRB é a aplicação de vacinas nos animais na chegada aos locais de terminação, sem saber se o animal já foi infectado por algum dos agentes

Detection, risk factors and molecular diversity of norovirus GIII in cattle in Uruguay.

Uruguay is a leading exporter of bovine meat and dairy products, and cattle production is one of the principal economic backbones in this country. A main clinical problem faced by livestock farmers is neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD); however, causes of NCD have not been extensively studied in Uruguay. Bovine norovirus (BoNoV) has been proposed as one of the possible etiologies of NCD as experimentally infected calves developed diarrhea and enteropathy, although limited information is available from field surveys. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency of infection, to investigate possible risk factors, and to determine the molecular diversity of BoNoV in Uruguay. A total of 761 samples of feces or intestinal contents from dairy and beef calves were analyzed through RT-qPCR. The overall frequency of detection of BoNoV was 66.1% with higher frequency in dairy (70.5%) than beef (15.9%) calves (p<0.01). BoNoV was detected similarly in diarrheic (78.8%) and non-diarrheic (76.2%) dairy calves (p=0.50). Calves ≤2weeks of age (84%) were infected more often than older (62.7%) calves (p<0.01). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of GIII.1 and GIII.2 genotypes. In addition, we reported the circulation of recombinant strains and the detection of a strain with the recently described novel VP1 genotype. This study represents the first report describing the circulation, the associated risk factors, and the molecular diversity of BoNoV in Uruguay.

Sustainable and healthy diets: Synergies and trade‐offs in Switzerland

AbstractFood systems have increasingly strong impacts on the environment, and they influence our human well‐being. In Switzerland, food consumption accounts for one‐third of the environmental impact caused by total final consumption. At the same time, non‐communicable diseases have been linked to a number of dietary aspects. In Switzerland, all non‐communicable diseases together are responsible for 80% of total public health care costs annually. Current assessments that link environmental sustainability and human health‐oriented diets for Switzerland lack a transparent representation of the dynamic effects caused by large‐scale conversions of the food system. In this study, therefore, a system dynamics model is employed to investigate intended and unintended changes on the food system structure and on environmental impacts. Several human health‐oriented scenarios are implemented and tested with different production‐ and consumption‐side intervention strategies. Because all scenarios assuming an increase in the consumption of plant‐based products also involve higher consumption of dairy products, consequences for bovine meat need to be considered. The biological link between milk and bovine meat production leads to an unintended increase in bovine meat production as milk production increases. Intervention strategies at the consumption level thus need to be accompanied by intervention strategies at the agricultural production level. Similarly, intervention strategies that aim at improving health outcomes at the production level need to be accompanied by strategies that affect diets and thus consumption preferences. Avoiding instances of policy resistance requires integrated policy design and implementation across agriculture, the environment and human health. This integration is a challenge for farmers, the food industry and consumers alike.

Biomass consumption and environmental footprints of beef cattle production in Argentina

Argentina is globally known as a beef producer and consumer. Although the national and international significance of Argentinean bovine meat production, only few but valuable attempts were made to systematize and evaluate the environmental impact of the beef cattle sector by using a life cycle perspective. In the present work we aim to assess the environmental performance of the Argentinean beef cattle sector by performing a cradle-to-farm-gate partial life cycle analysis. Firstly, we modeled 75 beef cow-calf and finishing systems distributed among 8 livestock regions to obtain the environmental footprint per ton of live weight (LW) at farm gate for each cow-calf and finishing system. Secondly, the cow-calf and finishing systems were linked to form full production systems for each region and weighted by regional stocks. Thirdly, the regional data were integrated to determine the weighted average footprint per ton of LW and the absolute environmental impacts of the entire beef cattle sector. For 2016, the weighted means of environmental footprints at national scale were: 22.6 ton DM/ton LW for biomass consumption, 10.7 ha/ton LW for land occupation, 17.4 ton CO2/ton LW for GHG emissions, 10.3 GJ/ton LW for fossil energy use, 182 kg N-P-S/ton LW for synthetic fertilizer use and 4.68 kg a.i./ton LW for pesticides use. As a result, the total production of beef cattle in Argentina during 2016 consumed an estimated 129 Mton of biomass, of which 92% was grass (71% native pastures and 21% seeded pastures) and 8% were supplements as maize grain, silage (maize and sorghum) and hay. Regarding land occupation 61.1 Mha was necessary to supply the sector, 95% of it represented by grasslands (81% native pastures and 14% seeded pastures). Also, the beef cattle sector emitted to the atmosphere 99.3 Mton CO2-eq and used a total of 58.8 million GJ of fossil energy, 1.04 Mton of synthetic fertilizer and 26.7 thousand kg a.i. of pesticides.

Tissue and species identification in minced meat and meat products from Italian commercial markets by DNA microarray and histological approach.

Adequate testing and adulterant detection of food products are required to assure its safety and avoid fraudulent activities. Adulteration/substitution of costlier meat with a cheaper or inferior meat is one of the most common fraudulence in meat industry. Aim of this study was to check the correct labelling of meat and ready to cook bovine meat products, combining the DNA microarray approach to identify the animal species with the histological examination, to check the composition and safety of meat. One hundred and one samples of bovine minced meat (Group 1) and ready to cook meat products (Group 2) were collected from supermarkets in Turin, Italy. DNA microarray revealed that 25.7% of samples were positive for species not declared on the label, swine being the most common. Histology showed the presence of cartilage, bone and glandular tissue. A higher presence of bacteria and inflammatory cells was detected in Group 1. Bacterial cells associated to inflammatory cells were detected with a higher score in Group 2. Sarcocystis spp. were present in 83.3% samples of Group 1 and 49.1% of Group 2. This study confirmed that the mislabelling of meat products is not uncommon. The combination of DNA microarrays and histology can increase the monitoring capacity in bovine meat industry.

Agricultural sector in economy of Poland in 1950-2020.

Agriculture constitutes one of the first and foremost forms of conscious and organised human activity. Its importance for the society and for the economy stems from its main purpose, namely to meet one of the basic human needs - to satisfy hunger. The period of almost 70 years under consideration brought about exceptional change in the case of Polish agriculture. It consisted of a systematic decline in the potential of agriculture in the economy. The factor that is specific to agriculture - land, evolved relatively the least. Land allocated for agricultural purposes reduced for about one quarter. Much deeper changes have taken place in the other two factors, universal from the point of view of the sectoral application, namely work (human resources) and capital. In the post-war period, trade in agri-food products, albeit small, remained of great importance for the development of Polish agriculture and the entire economy. The nature of the links in this area has also undergone significant changes. Since Poland's accession to the European Union, the balance in foreign trade in agri-food products has been positive and has been growing steadily. This means that foreign customers are becoming increasingly interested in agricultural and food products from Poland. The strategic directions of development for Polish agriculture are the production of bovine meat, poultry meat, eggs, milk and milk products, butter, sugar, fruits, vegetables, pulses, potatoes and cereals. Food consumption has also undergone dynamic changes. The main goal of the paper is to define the position of agriculture in the national economy at various stages of development, as well as changing external conditions, including political, social and economic, which affect this position.

Development of a Non-Meat-Based, Mass Producible and Effective Bait for Oral Vaccination of Dogs against Rabies in Goa State, India.

Introduction: To achieve the global goal of canine-mediated human rabies elimination by 2030 there is an urgent need to scale-up mass dog vaccination activities in regions with large dog populations that are difficult to access; a common situation in much of India. Oral rabies vaccination may enable the vaccination of free-roaming dogs that are inaccessible to parenteral vaccination, and is considered a promising complementary measure to parenteral mass dog vaccination campaigns. WHO and OIE have published detailed minimum requirements for rabies vaccines and baits to be used for this purpose, requiring that baits must not only be well-accepted by the target population but must also efficiently release the vaccine in the oral cavity. For oral rabies vaccination approaches to be successful, it is necessary to develop baits which have a high uptake by the target population, are culturally accepted and amenable to mass production. The aim of this study was to compare the interest and uptake rates of meat-based and an egg-based prototype bait constructs by free roaming dogs in Goa, India. Methods: Three teams randomly distributed two prototype baits; an egg-flavoured bait and a commercial meat dog food (gravy) flavoured bait. The outcomes of consumption were recorded and compared between baits and dog variables. Results: A total of 209 egg-bait and 195 gravy-bait distributions were recorded and analysed. No difference (p = 0.99) was found in the percentage of dogs interested in the baits when offered. However, significantly more dogs consumed the egg-bait than the gravy-bait; 77.5% versus 68.7% (p = 0.04). The release of the blue-dyed water inside the sachet in the oral cavity of the animals was significant higher in the dogs consuming an egg-bait compared to the gravy-bait (73.4% versus 56.7%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The egg-based bait had a high uptake amongst free roaming dogs and also enabled efficient release of the vaccine in the oral cavity, whilst also avoiding culturally relevant materials of bovine or porcine meat products.

Structural analysis of a replication protein encoded by a plasmid isolated from a multiple sclerosis patient.

Bovine meat and milk factors (BMMFs) are circular, single-stranded episomal DNAs that have been detected in bovine meat and milk products. BMMFs are thought to have roles in human malignant and degenerative diseases. BMMFs encode a replication initiator protein (Rep) that is actively transcribed and translated in human cells. In this study, a Rep WH1 domain encoded on a BMMF (MSBI1.176) isolated from a multiple sclerosis human brain sample was determined to 1.53 Å resolution using X-ray crystallography. The overall structure of the MSBI1.176 WH1 domain was remarkably similar to other Rep structures, despite having a low (28%) amino-acid sequence identity. The MSBI1.176 WH1 domain contained elements common to other Reps, including five α-helices, five β-strands and a hydrophobic pocket. These new findings suggest that the MSBI1.176 Rep might have comparable roles and functions to other known Reps of different origins.

Determination of lumpy skin disease virus in bovine meat and offal products following experimental infection.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) has recently expanded its range northwards to include the Balkans, Turkey and Russia. Because there was no solid evidence conclusively verifying the transmission mechanism in the field and LSDV viraemic animals with overt and asymptomatic presentation of disease and their products may represent a risk as an indirect transmission pathway. In this work, we used PCR positivity and infectivity in clinical and subclinical infection to evaluate the safety of meat and offal products from cows infected with the virulent LSDV strain Russia/Dagestan/2015. At day 21 post infection, seven of the 12 animals developed the generalized disease, and four animals became subclinically infected without apparent clinical signs. Upon examination and necropsy, the animals with the generalized disease had skin lesions; noticeably enlarged lymph nodes; and lesions in the lungs, trachea and testicles; whereas subclinically ill animals exhibited only enlarged lymph nodes and fever. For both disease presentations, testing of skeletal meat by PCR and virus isolation showed that the skeletal meat did not contain live virus or viral genome, whereas in cattle with generalized disease, meat with gross pathology physically connected under the site of a skin lesion was positive for the live virus. In subclinical infection, only enlarged lymph nodes carried the infectious virus, while the other internal organs tested in both types of disease manifestation were negative except for the testicles. Overall, our findings demonstrate that clinically and subclinically infected animals are reservoirs of live LSDV in lymph nodes and testicles, whereas deep skeletal meat in both types of infection do not carry live virus and the risk of transmission through this product seems very low. The detection of LSDV in testicular tissues in subclinically ill animals is concerning because of the potential to spread infection through contaminated semen. This aspect requires reconsideration of surveillance programmes to identify these Trojan horses of LSDV infection.

Environmental Impacts of Bovine Meat Production

Environmental Impacts of Bovine Meat Production

A quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of equine (horse and donkey)-originated meat in processed bovine meat products.

Meat is one of the most important basic foodstuffs in human nutrition. Nowadays, adulteration and authenticity are common problems for meat products. Identification of meat species is important in terms of consumer protection and prevention of adulteration. There are different methods to determine adulteration of meat and meat products. These methods are histological controls, serological tests, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. In this study, species identification and quantification analysis of meat and meat products were done by using horse-, donkey-, and bovine-specific primers with quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. Triple meat mixtures containing horse and donkey meat ranging from 0.1 to 50% levels were prepared within a bovine mixture for using species identification and quantification analysis. The method specificity was confirmed by melting curve analysis. In conclusion, quantitative polymerase chain reaction is an easy, rapid, and reliable method for meat species identification, and with this study an applicable method was developed for the detection and quantification of equine-originated meat in bovine meat products.

Metabolomics analysis of liver reveals profile disruption in bovines upon steroid treatment

The surveillance of illegal anabolic practices in bovine meat production is necessary to guarantee consumers’ health. Screening strategies based on the recognition of indirect biological effects are considered by the community as promising tools to overcome some limitations of classical analytical methods and might therefore concur to ensure safer food for the consumer. The present work aims at characterizing the metabolic profile induced in liver by administration of anabolic steroids, and at identifying potential disturbances in the hepatic metabolism. A total of 32 liver samples, 16 from untreated bulls and 16 from bulls treated with an ear implant (Revalor-XS®) containing trenbolone acetate (200 mg) and β-estradiol (40 mg), were analyzed following a LC–MS-based metabolomic analysis combining RP and HILIC chromatographic separations. Different multivariate statistical tools were applied to the datasets to select common metabolites that may be considered as potential markers based on their significant changes in concentrations after administration of sexual steroids. Eight candidate markers were identified. Moreover, a subset of four markers was also validated by a different laboratory that performed the same analysis using an independent instrumental and elaboration platform, confirming the robustness of the results achieved. This study was performed mimicking experimental conditions that may be used during a potential misuse practice. It is promising in the objective of setting up an analytical strategy to highlight sexual steroids abuse in livestock animals.

Molecular identification of Sarcocystis species in raw hamburgers using PCR-RFLP method in Kashan, central Iran.

The prevalence of bovine Sarcocystosis is high in the most regions of the world. It can be a human health problem due to consumption of raw or under cooked hamburgers or other bovine meat products. This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence and species identification of Sarcocystis among of hamburgers, using PCR-RFLP methods in Kashan, central Iran. Overall 200 raw industrial hamburgers samples with at least 60% meat were randomly collected from nine different brands in Kashan, central Iran. The genomic DNA was extracted and a PCR-RFLP method was used to amplify an approximately 900bp fragment at the 18S rRNA(SSU) gene, restriction enzyme BclI was used for species identification. The results showed that 58 (29%) of 200 tested hamburger samples were infected to Sarcocystis spp. The prevalence rate was 31.25 and 26.9% in the hamburgers with 90 and 60-75% meat, respectively. According to PCR-RFLP analysis, 43 (74.1%) of the 58 isolates were Sarcocystis cruzi, 12 (20.7%) showed co-infection to S. cruzi and Sarcocystis hirsuta, 2 (3.5%) was mixed infected to S. cruzi and Sarcocystis hominis, 1 (1.7%) showed the pattern of mix infection to three species. This study revealed one-third of industrial hamburger were infected to S. cruzi or mixed infection of S. cruzi with other bovine sarcocytosis. To prevent cattle infection, the possible ingestion of the disposal sporocyst stage from dogs must be eliminated. Although in this study, the prevalence of S. hominis was low and cannot be considered as a major zoonosis, it should be recommended avoiding eating under cooked hamburger and other bovine meat products to prevent human infection.