Bushmeat production process influences its quality. The objective of the study is to take stock of the hygiene of slaughter and distribution of bushmeat in southern Benin. Therefore, data on the bushmeat production process were collected and analyzed for wild species slaughtered or captured in the village of Tègon. It has been found that except for snakes and ruminants, two types of bushmeat production schemes were used according to the practices identified by category of wild species: small mammals and birds. The first type (Practice 1) was done without application of fresh blood to carcasses and the second one (Practice 2) was characterized by application of fresh blood to carcasses just after evisceration. Tools used by operators in general were poorly maintained from the hygienic point of view. No operator had a specific location suitable for storing tools. Operators did not wear mufflers, clean gloves, clean clothes and appropriate footwear. The state of animal health also remained unknown to all these operators. There was no cleaning and disinfection program for processing areas and work tools. Forward movement was not practiced at any meat processing station. Among the respondents, 3.16% did not wash carcasses, 46.88% did it poorly (with dirty water or water already used) and 50% did it unsufficiently (with very little water). Blood applied to carcasses was not cleaned by 3.13% of respondents, poorly cleaned (with dirty water) by 40.63% and unsufficiently cleaned with a little water by 56.25%. The study shows that in Tègon, the bushmeat production process is not hygienic and measures must be taken to protect the health of consumers.

One of the key factors while developing nutritional supplements is their bioavailability. To determine it, expensive and timeconsuming clinical studies of developed products are necessary. Using in silico methods may speed up and reduce the costs of such clinical studies. The purpose of this study is to develop an approach to predicting the integral bioavailability of enteral nutrition products (ENPs) based on a comprehensive analysis of the matrices of components and indicators. The includes a comprehensive empirical study based on a comparative statistical analysis of the matrix of studied ENPs components. Available information on the composition and indicators of 52 commercial ENPs was used as a research object. This information was compiled into a matrix of components and indicators, marked according to the intended purposes of the products. The set of products included in the matrix was divided into 2 subsets: ENPs corresponding to a given intended purpose and other ENPs. This made it possible to separate statistically significant components and indicators that define the intended purpose of the product with a given threshold of the maximum error probability for inequality of mean values. Using Harrington’s desirability principle in relation to the identified components and indicators made it possible to obtain an integral estimate of desirability for a given intended purpose. A vector characterizing the distance from the integral estimate to the ideal value was introduced as equivalent predicted bioavailability. The upper limit of the optimal range is 0.37, the upper limit of the acceptable range is 0.63. The predicted bioavailability vector scale is the inverse of the integral desirability scale. In contrast to Harrington scaling, the lower the predicted bioavailability value, the more preferable it is. Analysis of the introduced indicator allowed us to establish significant variability in commercial ENPs with respect to predicted bioavailability for diabetes mellitus and thermal injury. Based on the proposed predicted bioavailability vector, a principle has been developed for the evolutionary development of a statistical approach to predicting bioavailability when designing ENPs. This principle is a universal addition to the principle of food combinatorics while developing meat, dairy and plant-based ENPs.

The research was conducted to identify the present status of the food safety knowledge, attitude and practices of meat handlers in retail meat shops of Khulna City, Bangladesh. The research was performed through face-to-face interviews of randomly selected 65 meat handlers in six areas of Khulna City. Socio-demographic information of all respondents was collected. The illiteracy rate was 15.38%, while the majority (42.9%) of the respondents had secondary education. The highest proportion (43.07%) of meat handlers was low experienced in meat handling. Among the respondents, 58.46% were sellers, while no respondents had any training on butchery and food safety. All respondents worked at least three days a week and meat handling was the main occupation for all respondents. Most of the respondents (50.76%) had low media contact. The highest proportion (74.3%) of the respondents had medium (scores of 11 to 20) food safety knowledge. About 62.9% of the respondents had moderately favorable food safety attitude (scores of 28 to 54), while 60.0% of the respondents had medium food safety practices (scores of 15 to 28). The mean score of the food safety knowledge, attitude and practices was 18.65±3.81, 50.71±9.49 and 27.20±3.22, respectively. This study shows that there is an identified gap in knowledge and correct practices among meat handlers and that there is a need to raise awareness about food safety through education programs regarding food safety and safe food handling practices. These findings can help public health professionals in developing initiatives to improve food safety knowledge and practices of meat handlers and prevent foodborne diseases (FBDs). The government should pay special attention for improving knowledge and ensuring proper food safety practices to avoid the transmission of FBDs in Khulna City.

Staphylococcus aureus in rabbit meat is a consequence of insufficient hygienic handling and improper processing posing a major health hazard. This study was conducted to assess rabbit meat as a potential source of Staphylococcus species, particularly Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Furthermore, the identified S. aureus isolates were tested for the detection of the mecA virulence gene of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and enterotoxin encoding genes (Sea, Seb, Sec, and Sed). A total of 80 samples of different rabbit meat cuts represented by shoulder, ribs, loin, and thigh (20 of each) were collected from various markets of different sanitation levels. The results obtained revealed that the mean counts of Staphylococcus species were 7.40×105 , 7.58×105 , 7.60×105 and 8.29×105 CFU/g in the examined shoulder, ribs, loin and thigh samples, respectively. Out of 17 identified S. aureus isolates, 5 (29.4%) strains were characterized by the presence of the mecA gene. A large proportion of the isolates obtained were resistant to at least three antibiotics. Enterotoxins were evaluated by ELISA. The results showed that three strains isolated from shoulder produced Sea, Seb, and Sec enterotoxins, the strains isolated from ribs failed to produce enterotoxins, while two strains isolated from loin and thigh produced Sea enterotoxin. The presence of S. aureus, especially MRSA strains, in the examined rabbit meat indicates the necessity of enforced application of strict hygienic measurements.

The meat industry is one of the most dynamic and competitive sectors of the food industry. As the global population keeps on growing and the demand for protein does the same, the consumers define ever higher standards of quality for the meat producers. One of the key quality criteria is the tenderness and juiciness of meat, which directly affects its taste and texture characteristics. In order to satisfy the expectations of the modern consumers and to ensure the stable quality of the meat product, meat processing enterprises actively introduce the innovative technologies. In recent decades, proteolytic enzymes have been increasingly used to improve the quality characteristics of the meat products, which is a more progressive method in comparison with to mechanical methods of processing due to less impact on other consumer properties. This article overviews the role and importance of enzymes in the meat industry. We will consider various aspects of the application of these enzymes for the meat products, their effect on the level of tenderness, juiciness and other characteristics of meat, as well as prospects for the further development of their using

The historical study of changes in food patterns is an integral part of the study of biological and social adaptations during the formation and further development of Homo sapiens species. For quite a long time, diets have been considered the driving force of human evolution. Changes in the type of food consumed and the way it was obtained have been associated with encephalization and the emergence of bipedalism, as well as ecological, social and cultural evolution of hominins1 . Archaeological and paleontological evidence indicates that at least about 3 million years ago, hominins increased their meat consumption and developed the necessary fabricated stone tools, while their brains and bodies evolved for a novel foraging niche and expanded hunting grounds. Animalsource foods have always been an integral part of the human diet. However, the way they are obtained and processed changed dramatically during human evolution. Meat became a common food source when systematic hunting began using technologies and tools focused on killing animals and meat cutting, which reduced the time and effort spent on chewing food, and later, on its cooking. At some point after this, humans began to hunt together, which made it possible to obtain meat from big game, and as a result, develop the social and altruistic skills to distribute the prey between sexes and ages. The eating habits of our ancestors have been studied using a variety of methods, including anthropometry, the use of archaeological data, and isotope analysis of bones and teeth to determine trophic status. The adaptive biological significance of meat-eating, which played an important role in human evolution, was analyzed, including the “expensive tissue hypothesis” draw attention to the evolutionary forces responsible for the increase in hominin brain size. Furthermore, data on changes in human anatomy, digestion and metabolism are systematized, indicating an evolutionary dependence on and compatibility with significant meat consumption. At the same time, a number of changes in the human body are associated with the skill of using fire in cooking. Heat processing of food stimulated our ancestors to overcome the food specialization intrinsic to animals. The question of what is the right diet for the human species and what are the potential consequences of limiting meat consumption is briefly addressed.

A novel approach to the protection of unstable fat-soluble vitamins, using retinol as an example, is presented in this work. This method is based on introducing vitamin A molecules into casein micelles. Protective properties of micellar casein towards different forms of retinol (native vitamin and palmitic acid ester) in vitro and in emulsion-type meat products are investigated. A technology of the introduction using micellar casein concentrate (MCC) has been developed. Conditions similar to those in which vitamin molecules can be in meat emulsions during heat treatment are simulated in vitro. The optimal time of “encapsulation” (2 hours) and the need for additional surfactant (tween-80) are identified. The use of the casein micelles protection made it possible to increase the number of retinol molecules that did not undergo decomposition under model conditions (in vitro) from ~30% to ~80%. Using the vitamin premix the degree of degradation of vitamin molecules does not exceed 4% after heat treatment. Data received allowed us to determine the efficiency of the protection properties of casein micelles for unstable vitamin A molecules.

The wide use of antioxidants is due to their involvement in free radical processes in foods and human body. Interest in the use of low-value raw materials providing products with functional properties and increasing their shelf life is rapidly increasing. However, any changes in the formulation and technology may affect the properties and composition of the finished product. During the work, the effect of replacing 34% (sample 1) or 17% (sample 2) beef broth with 70% water-ethanol extract of yellow onion peels in the formulation of the experimental meat pates was investigated. The control product contained only beef broth as liquid. The total antioxidant capacity by the DPPH radical method (TACDPPH), fatty acid composition and amino acid composition were determined; microelement content analysis, proteomic and microstructural studies of meat pate samples with and without the addition of extract were also carried out. For 14 days, TACDPPH values of experimental pates were higher than in control by at least 2.32 times (P<0.10). Samples 1 and 2 were characterized by a decrease in the concentrations of zinc, manganese and magnesium by no more than 14% (P<0.10), with a simultaneous increase in selenium, copper, potassium and calcium of 8% to 17.35% (P<0.10) depending on the microelement. The mass fraction of protein in experimental pates 1 and 2 was higher by 6.76% and 2.73% (P<0.10), respectively, which was due to a decrease in moisture because of ethanol evaporation. Replacing the broth in the formulation affected the decrease in the protein biological value, as evidenced by a decrease in amino acid scores (AASs). However, a decrease in the AAS difference coefficient in experimental pates 1 and 2 by 7.71% and 3.07%, respectively, led to an increase in the biological value of the pates by 7.7% and 3.06%, respectively. Based on the results of proteomic and histological analysis, it was revealed that the addition of ethanol extract did not lead to significant changes in the protein composition and microstructural characteristics of the test samples.

The trophic chain, which manifests the correlation at nutritional level between various macro- and microorganisms, is an important factor of the ecosystem; it can show the migration of various substances within the chain “soil — water — plant — animals”. The trophic chain in Borgoy depression area was studied due to the profound correlation between the compositional characteristics of the soil and pronounced organoleptic features of meat of the sheep that feed on grass in this area. For the experiments, control and experimental samples of soil, water, plants and mutton meat were examined. The samples taken near the saline lake within the Borgoy depression on the west of Beloozersk village served as an experimental sample. The samples taken 30 km from the salt lake near Petropavlovsk village in the Republic of Buryatia served as control sample. Experiments have shown that the soil of the Borgoy depression is a saline soil, with a depth of the salt horizon of 0–30 cm, and the salt belongs to chloride-sulfate-soda type of salinity. It is noted that the saline soil is characterized by a much higher content of carbonates, chlorides and cations of sodium, potassium and magnesium. Correlation was found between the isotopic composition in soil, vegetation and the raw meat materials. More profound certain organoleptic features of Borgoy mutton were noted. It’s highly probable that this fact is associated with the peculiarities of the mineral, chemical, and amino acid compositions of meat of the livestock that lives in the pastures of the Borgoy depression, characterized by saline soils. Despite the increased content of heavy metals such as lead and copper in the soil, data on sheep muscle tissue showed that all values of toxic elements content are within the permissible concentration range. The transfer of heavy metals from the soil to the aboveground part of plants is hindered by the underground root part, which serves as barrier.