This study evaluated the effects of Averrhoa bilimbi juice extract and storage temperature
on lipid oxidation and microbial spoilage of spent chicken meat. Ten, 80 weeks old spent
chickens were slaughtered, eviscerated and aged for 24 h at 4oC. Thereafter, the Pectoralis
major muscles and right thighs were excised and marinated in either A. bilimbi juice extract,
pure distilled water, or no marination (control) for either 4 or 9 h at room temperature or 9 or 24
h at 4°C. Lipid oxidation was monitored on the Pectoralis major muscles while the right thighs
were assessed for Enterobacteriacea counts. Lipid oxidation was not significantly affected
by the type or duration of marination. Marination showed a temperature dependent effect on
Enterobacteriacea counts. At room temperature, samples that were marinated by distilled water
showed significantly higher Enterobacteriacea counts than the control while those that were
marinated with A. bilimbi juice extract showed no growth at both 4 and 9 h of marination. At
chilled temperature, marination had no significant effects on the growth of Enterobacteriacea
during the 9 or 24 h storage. These results indicated that A. bilimbi juice extract marinade has
some antibacterial activities but works better when combined with refrigerated storage.
In the recent years, Muslims have become increasingly concerned about the meat they eat. Proper product description is very crucial for consumers to make informed choices and to ensure fair trade, particularly in the ever growing halal food market. Globally, Muslim consumers are concerned about a number of issues concerning meat and meat products such as pork substitution, undeclared blood plasma, use of prohibited ingredients, pork intestine casings and non-halal methods of slaughter. Analytical techniques which are appropriate and specific have been developed to deal with particular issues. The most suitable technique for any particular sample is often determined by the nature of the sample itself. This paper sets out to identify what makes meat halal, highlight the halal authenticity issues that occur in meat and meat products and provide an overview of the possible analytical methods for halal authentication of meat and meat products.
Fat and fatty acids in muscle and adipose tissues are among the major factors influencing meat quality particularly nutritional value and palatability. The present study was carried out to examine the effects of supplementing inorganic selenium (Se), iodine (I) and a combination of both on fatty acid compositions in serum, and supraspinatus (SS), longissimus lumborum (LL), and semitendinosus (ST) muscles in goats. Twenty-four, 7 to 8 months old, Kacang male goats with a mean live weight of 22.00±1.17 kg were individually and randomly assigned into four groups of six animals each for 100 d of feeding prior to slaughter. The animals were offered the same concentrate (basal) diet as 1% of body weight with ad libitum amount of fresh guinea grass. The four groups were as follows: T1 (control) - basal diet without supplementation; T2 - basal diet with 0.6 mg Se/kg DM; T3 - basal diet with 0.6 mg I/kg DM; T4 - basal diet with combination of 0.6 mg Se/kg DM and 0.6 mg I/kg DM. The major fatty acids (FAs) detected in the serum were palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1n9) and linoleic (C18:2n-6), while the major FAs in the selected muscles were C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1n9 acids. The main polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) detected in muscles and serum were (CI8:2n-6), linolenic acid (C18:3n-3), and arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6). No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in the concentration of total saturated fatty acids (SFA) among the four groups. PUFA concentrations in the goats supplemented with Se (T2) were significantly higher (p<0.05) than the goats of the control group (T1). The PUFA: SFA ratio was significantly higher in the animals supplemented with dietary Se (T2) than those of control ones (T1). It is concluded that dietary supplementation of inorganic Se increased the unsaturated fatty acids in muscle. The supplementation of iodine with or without Se had negligible effects on muscle fatty acid content of Kacang crossbred male goats.
This experiment aimed to determine microbial spoilage and lipid and protein oxidation during aerobic refrigerated (4°C) storage of rabbit meat. Forty male New Zealand white rabbits were slaughtered according to the Halal slaughter procedure. The hind limbs were used for microbial analysis while the Longissimus lumborum m. was used for determination of lipid and protein oxidation. Bacterial counts generally increased with aging time and the limit for fresh meat (10(8)cfu/g) was reached at d 7 postmortem. Significant differences in malondialdehyde content were observed after 3d of storage. The thiol concentration significantly decreased with increase in aging time. The band intensities of myosin heavy chain and troponin T significantly reduced with increased refrigerated storage while actin remained relatively stable. This study thus proposes protein oxidation as a potential deteriorative change in refrigerated rabbit meat along with microbial spoilage and lipid oxidation.
This study assessed the effect of gas stunning which has not been conducted until now in comparison with slaughter without stunning on the welfare and meat quality of rabbits. Eighty male New Zealand White rabbits were divided into two groups of 40 animals and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or gas stunning using 61.4% CO2, 20.3% oxygen and 18.3 % nitrogen (GS). Analysis of the sticking blood revealed that both slaughter procedures caused a substantial increase in the levels of catecholamines, hypercalcemia, hyperglycemia, lactic acidemia and an increase in enzyme activities. The ultimate pH of the Longissimus lumborum muscle did not differ between treatments. GS exhibited higher lightness and cooking loss, and lower glycogen and MFI than HS. This indicates that both GS and HS can be significant stressors although the amount of stress may be below the threshold to negatively affect rabbit meat quality.
The transformation of an animal into pieces fit for human consumption is a very important operation. Rather than argue about halal slaughter without stunning being inhumane or stunning being controversial from the Islamic point of view, we discuss slaughter, stunning and animal welfare considering both Islamic and animal welfare legislation requirements. With the world Muslim population close to two billion, the provision of halal meat for the Muslim community is important both ethically and economically. However, from the animal welfare standard point of view, a number of issues have been raised about halal slaughter without stunning, particularly, about stressful methods of restraint and the latency of the onset of unconsciousness. This paper sets out to, discuss the methods of stunning that are acceptable by Islamic authorities, highlight the requirements for stunning to be acceptable in Islam and suggest practical ways to improve the humanness of slaughter.
A study was conducted to compare the effect of halal slaughter without stunning and gas stun killing followed by bleeding on residual blood content and storage stability of rabbit meat. Eighty male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into two groups of 40 animals each and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or gas stun-kill (GK). The volume of blood lost during exsanguination was measured. Residual blood was further quantified by determination of haemoglobin content in Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle. Storage stability of the meat was evaluated by microbiological analysis and measuring lipid oxidation in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). HS resulted in significantly higher blood loss than GK. HS had significantly lower residual haemoglobin in LL muscle compared to GK. Slaughter method had no effect on rabbit meat lipid oxidation at 0, 1, and 3 d postmortem. However, at 5 and 8 days of storage at 4°C, significant differences (p<0.05) were found, with meat from the GK group exhibiting significantly higher levels of MDA than that from HS. At day 3, greater growth of Pseudomonas aeroginosa and E. coli were observed in the GK group (p<0.05) with B. thermosphacta and total aerobic counts remained unaffected by slaughter method. At days 5 and 7 postmortem, bacterial counts for all tested microbes were affected by slaughter method, with GK exhibiting significantly higher growth than HS. It can be concluded that slaughter method can affect keeping quality of rabbit meat, and HS may be a favourable option compared to GK due to high bleed out.
Unlike Europe (particularly, Italy and Spain), where a number of studies have been conducted on the stressful effects of transport on rabbit welfare, few studies have been conducted on transportation of rabbits under hot, humid tropical conditions experienced in countries like Malaysia. We studied the effects of transportation in hot humid tropical conditions of Malaysia on physiometabolic changes in New Zealand white rabbits. Eighty experimental animals were divided into two groups of 40 bucks each and transported for either 3 or 1 h. Transportation caused a significant upsurge of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and creatine kinase activities (p<0.001) though did not significantly affect lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (p = 0.0706). Both transportation periods caused elevation in plasma glucose levels, lactic acidosis and dehydration as evidenced through elevated packed cell volume and plasma protein concentration. It was concluded that regardless of the duration, transport of rabbits under hot humid tropical conditions, resulted in heat distress since the rabbits showed hyperglycemia, hypercalcemia, lactacidemia, lymphocytopenia, dehydration and increase in blood enzyme activities.
The study compared changes in blood biochemistry, hormonal and electroencephalographic indices associated with possible noxious stimuli following neck cut slaughter in conscious, non-anaesthetized versus minimally-anaesthetized goats. Ten male Boer crossbreed goats were assigned into two groups and subjected to either slaughter conscious without stunning (SWS) or slaughter following minimal anaesthesia (SMA). Hormonal responses and changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) parameters were not influenced by slaughter method. The SWS goats had higher glucose and lactate than did SMA goats. It can be concluded that the noxious stimulus from the neck cut is present in both conscious and minimally anaesthetized goats. The application of slaughter without stunning causes changes in the EEG activities that are consistent with the presence of post slaughter noxious sensory input associated with tissue damage and would be expected to be experienced as pain in goats.
The study assessed the effect of conscious halal slaughter and slaughter following minimal anesthesia on bleeding efficiency of goats and keeping quality of goat meat. Ten Boer cross bucks were divided into two groups and subjected to either halal slaughter without stunning (HS) or minimal anesthesia prior to slaughter (AS). The blood lost during exsanguination was measured. Residual blood was further quantified by determination of hemoglobin and myoglobin content in longissimus lumborum muscle. Storage stability of the meat was evaluated by microbiological analysis and lipid oxidation. Blood loss at exsanguination, residual hemoglobin and lipid oxidation were not significantly different (p>0.05) between HS and AS. Lactic acid bacteria was the only microbe that was significantly elevated after 24h of storage at 4°C in the AS group. In conclusion, slaughtering goats under minimal anesthesia or fully conscious did not affect bleeding efficiency and keeping quality of goat meat.
Examined was the effect of post mortem refrigerated storage on microbial spoilage, lipid-protein oxidation and physicochemical traits of goat meat. Seven Boer bucks were slaughtered, eviscerated and aged for 24 h. The Longissimus lumborum (LL) and Semitendinosus (ST) muscles were excised and subjected to 13 days post mortem refrigerated storage. The pH, lipid and protein oxidation, tenderness, color and drip loss were determined in LL while microbiological analysis was performed on ST. Bacterial counts generally increased with increasing aging time and the limit for fresh meat was reached at day 14 post mortem. Significant differences were observed in malondialdehyde (MDA) content at day 7 of storage. The thiol concentration significantly reduced as aging time increased. The band intensities of myosin heavy chain (MHC) and troponin-T significantly decreased as storage progressed, while actin remained relatively stable. After 14 days of aging, tenderness showed significant improvement while muscle pH and drip loss reduced with increase in storage time. Samples aged for 14 days had higher lightness (P