MEAT Flashcards
What are the concerns associated with eating meat?
- nitrates (carcinogenic?)
- saturated fats
- food bourn diseases (salmonella)
- campylobacter
- e.coli
- bacterial resistance
- sustainability/environment
- animal welfare
What is the chemical composition of meat?
55-60% inorganic sustances (water and minerals)
35-40% organic substances
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen etc
What does muscle tissue consist of?
~75% water
~20% proteins
~5% fat
small amounts of glycogen and free amino acids
What are the different types of proteins in muscle?
Structural (e.g. collagen)
Contractile (actin and myosin)
Enzymes
Hormones
Antibodies
Transporters (haemoglobin)
Where are the 3 locations of fat in meat?
Subcutaneous (under the skin)
Intermuscular (between muscles)
Intramuscular (marbling in muscles)
TRUE OR FASLE: some breeds of animals are more prone to stress and dying in transport?
True
Some genotypes in pigs make then more prone to stress
What are the possible damages to carcasses that can occur during transport?
Bruising
Haemorrhages
Skin blemishes
Broken bones
What is shrinkage?
Losses in live weight due to less gut fill and excretory losses
What are the two major quality problems in meat?
Pale, Soft, Exudative (PSE)
Dark, Firm, Dry (DFD)
Which muscle fibres are more likely to become DFD?
Red fibres (e.g. beef and lamb)
Which muscle fibres are more likely to become PSE?
White fibres (poultry, pork)
What causes green colouration in meat?
Sulfmyoglobin
When haem pigments in the myoglobin react with sulfide producing bacteria under anaerobic conditions
When and how does PSE occur?
When animal killed while stressed and has minimal glycogen stores. Anaerobic glycolysis causes lactic acid and thus a LOW pH
Paleness is not due to a loss of myoglobin, but due to light reflecting water on the surface of the meat
When and how does DFD occur?
When animal is killed while stressed and with no glycogen stores, so cannot produce lactic acid and so pH remains HIGH and binds water very tightly
When cut there is no moisture so light is absorbed so looks dark
It is firm because the fibres are very tightly packed and is dry because the water is bound so tightly
What effects does PSE have on meat taste/ quality?
Tends to have dry taste and poor texture when cooked
What effect does DFD have on meat taste/quality?
Poor processing characteristics and spoils easier so has shorter shelf life
What effect does chronic preslaughter stress have on meat?
DFD
What effect does acute preslaughter stress have on meat?
PSE
What is exsanguination?
cutting of major arteries to the brain = bleeding to death
What gives meat a metallic taste?
Too much blood in the meat
Blood is also a breeding ground for bacteria
What are the three instruments used in mechanical stunning of animals?
Captive bolt pistol
Percussion stunner
Free bullet
All traumatise the brain = instant unconsciousness
What are two ways to stun animals non-mechanically?
Electric current
Immersion in anaesthetic gas
What are the two phases in effective stunning of animals?
Tonic Phase
- immediate collapsing
- stopping of rhythmic breathing
- eyeball is fixed
Clonic Phase
- involuntary kicking
- 15-45 seconds
- can recover if not killed immediately
What factors effect the rate at which a carcass looses heat?
Size of the carcass
Level of subcutaneous fat
Air circulation
What does rate of cooling effect in the muscles?
- rates of pH fall through the production of lactic acid
- the disappearance of CP and ATP
- speed of onset of RM
Rapid chilling can reduce PSE in pork
What is the ‘magic number’ for muscle temp?
8-10 degrees
What occurs when cooling is too rapid?
Cold shortening
What occurs if meat is frozen before rigor mortis?
When it defrosts it goes through RM but much stronger and is called ‘thaw rigor’
What occurs in cold shortening?
If meat is rapidly chilled before RM and before glycogen is converted to lactic acid there is a super contraction
The contraction is not followed by relaxation and so results in shorter sarcomeres and thus tougher meat