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Meat consumption is gradually increasing and its impact on health has attracted widespread attention, resulting in epidemiological studies proposing a reduction in meat and processed meat intake. This review briefly summarizes recent advances in understanding the effects of meat or processed meat on human health, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Meat consumption varies widely among individuals, populations, and regions, with higher consumption in developed countries than in developing countries. However, increasing meat consumption may not be the main cause of increasing incidence of chronic disease, since the development of chronic disease is a complex physiological process that involves many factors, including excessive total energy intake and changes in food digestion processes, gut microbiota composition, and liver metabolism. In comparison, unhealthy dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle with decreasing energy expenditure are factors more worthy of reflection. Meat and meat products provide high-value protein and many key essential micronutrients. In short, as long as excessive intake and overprocessing of meats are avoided, meat remains an indispensable source of nutrition for human health., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The selection of broilers for augmented growth rate and breast has brought about wooden-breast (WB) muscle abnormalities, which caused substantial economic losses. The objective of this study was to compare water holding capacity, water mobility and distribution, salt-soluble protein (SSP) content, and protein profiles of normal and WB chicken meat with different additions of NaCl. Thirty WB and 30 normal chicken breasts were selected from a deboning line of a major Chinese processing plant at 2 to 3 h post mortem. Two different meat batters were formulated to 150 mg/g meat protein and different NaCl contents (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%). Results indicated that as NaCl contents increased, the cooking loss of meat batters decreased (P < 0.05). Increasing the NaCl content to 3% or more increased the solubility of myofibrillar protein and the extraction of SSPs, which resulted in the improving of cooking yield. Over a range of salt concentrations, normal and WB meat showed different protein profiles, with myosin heavy chain exhibiting a higher intensity at ≥3% salt level. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR)revealed an increased T22 and higher P22 in raw WB meat compared to normal meat (P < 0.05). Regarding the meat batters, WB meat batters had reduced T21 and lower immobilized water proportions at low NaCl contents (<2%). After heating, T2 shifted towards higher relaxation times with increasing NaCl contents in meat gels. Meat gels prepared from WB had a lower proportion of water within the myofibrillar protein matrix and a greater proportion of exuded bulk water at NaCl contents <3% (P < 0.05), while at higher NaCl contents the difference was eliminated, thus improving water retention capacity. In conclusion, for raw meat, meat batters and gels, water distribution and mobility of WB exhibited significant differences compared to normal meat. The addition of NaCl affected water mobility and distributions in meat batters, with a level of 3% NaCl eliminating the differences between processed normal and WB meat products., (© 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

[Display omitted] • Nutritional profile of meat and plant-based meat analogues have certain differences. • Bioavailability of some nutrients are lower in plant-based meat analogues. • There is insufficient evidence that plant-based meat analogues are healthier. • Providing comprehensive nutrition information on plant-based meat analogues is necessary. In order to fully understand the nutritional heterogeneity of plant-based meat analogues and real meat, this review summarized their similarities and differences in terms of ingredients, nutrient contents, bioavailability and health impacts. Plant-based meat analogues have some similarities to real meat. However, plant-based meat analogues are lower in protein, cholesterol and VB 12 but higher in dietary fiber, carbohydrates, sugar, salt and various food additives than real meat. Moreover, some nutrients in plant-based meat analogues, such as protein and iron, are less bioavailable. There is insufficient evidence that plant-based meat analogues are healthier, which may be related to the specific attributes of these products such as formulation and degree of processing. As things stand, it is necessary to provide comprehensive nutrition information on plant-based meat products so that consumers can make informed choices based on their nutritional needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Real meat showed a higher protein digestibility than the plant-based meat analogues; • More potential bioactive peptides were released from real meat; • These were closely related to the protein structure and physicochemical properties. To explore the nutritional values of meat and meat analogues, the in vitro protein digestion of pork, beef, plant-based pork and beef were evaluated. In the gastric phase, the digestibility of pork was significantly higher than that of the plant-based pork, while the value of beef was lower than that of the plant-based beef. In the intestinal phase, both pork and beef showed higher digestibility than plant-based meat analogues. A greater number of small molecular peptides were identified from pork and beef than from plant-based meat after gastrointestinal digestion. Larger quantities of potential bioactive peptides were released from the meat than from the plant-based meat analogues during digestion. These differences were closely related to protein secondary structure, the formation of disulfide bonds and apparent viscosity of digestion solution. The findings give a new insight into the underlying mechanisms of the different phenotype responses of consumers to meat and plant-based meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences of the quality characteristics and bacterial communities in meat products with or without blown pack spoilage (BPS) were not well illustrated. The objectives of this study were to investigate the quality characteristics and bacteria of meatballs with or without BPS, to explain the possible cause of meat products with BPS. The results revealed a 12.5% BPS ratio with meatballs and the pack volumes in the BPS samples were nearly two-fold larger than those of the normal samples after storage for 28 days. Compared with the normal group, the meatballs in the BPS group had a higher CO 2 abundance (78.53%) and a lower pH (5.09). Besides, the relative concentrations of some spoilage-related compounds (such as acetic acid) were significantly higher in BPS meatballs (P < 0.05). Principal component analysis provided evidence of clear differences in the bacterial communities between the BPS and normal groups. Pseudomonas (30.46%), Enterobacter (20.76%), Pantoea (13.38%), Serratia (12.63%), and Rahnella (10.15%) were dominant in the BPS group, whereas Pseudomonas (42.51%), Carnobacterium (18.74%), Pantoea (17.56%), and Enterobacter (14.80%) were dominant in the normal group. The findings of this study may provide a theoretical basis for understanding potential mechanisms underlying BPS. • The BPS rate was 12.5% and the pack volumes increased ~2-fold after 4 weeks. • The CO 2 level (78.53%) in blown packs decreased the pH (5.09) in BPS meat balls. • Gas-forming bacteria affected the VOCs and bacterial communities of meatballs. • Some spoilage-related compounds were significantly more abundant in BPS meatballs. • The predominant genera in the BPS and normal meatball groups were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganism biofilms can form on food-contact surfaces and lead to cross-contamination of bacteria during food processing. The dynamics of biofilm formation by Pseudomonas fluorescens associated with meat spoilage and the resistance of established biofilm to four disinfectants were investigated in this study. The results indicated that more than 4.5 log CFU/cm 2 of P. fluorescens were transferred to a stainless-steel surface under short-term (5 h) scenario, and bacteria transfer occurred even after only 10 min exposure. A mature biofilm was discovered after 5 days of incubation under long-term (7 days) scenario. The biofilm was characterized by more than 9.5 log CFU/cm 2 cells, 120 μm thick and a large amount of extracellular polymeric substances. Observation of mature biofilm were further confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy and attenuated total reflection fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy. The established biofilm showed distinct resistance to four disinfectants, namely sodium hypochlorite (SH), chlorine dioxide (CD), slightly acidic electrolyzed water (sAEW) and acidic electrolyzed water (AEW). The cells reduction was significant dependent on the concentrations, almost 8.0 log CFU/cm 2 of biofilm cells were reduced by 40 mg/L AEW and 200 mg/L SH treatment for 30 min, below the detection limit (1.32 log CFU/cm 2 ). However, less than 3 log CFU/cm 2 reduction of biofilm cells were obtained after treatment with 40 mg/L sAEW and 20 mg/L CD for 30 min, remaining large numbers of biofilm survival. Meanwhile, the cells reduction was time-dependent, and the numbers of surviving cells rapid declined along with increasing time, but there was no additional log reduction when treatment of 20 mg/L CD was increased from 15 to 30 min. The finding suggested that AEW has great potential to be used as an environmentally friendly intervention alternative for the elimination of P. fluorescens biofilm, substituting for the traditional sodium hypochlorite in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]