Corporate Social Responsibility and Farm Animal Welfare: Towards Sustainable Development in the Food Industry? In: Idowu SO, Vertigans S, editors. Stages of Corporate Social Responsibility. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. pp. 205-22. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-43536-7_10]

Social, ethical, environmental, economic and technological aspects of rabbit meat production - A critical review

Rabbit (RM) has become a valuable source of nutrients since the 1970s, helping to transform the European food industry into the largest RM producer in the world. However, the RM industry is experiencing a critical period of ethical imbalance. This trend, described as feed conversion ratio, impacts the environmental and financial performance of RM farms, which could lead to an increase production of industrial waste. In addition, the loss of corporate ethical responsibility and sustainable development by RM-oriented companies has further exacerbated the situation. Our objective was to summarize current trends in the RM industry and markets, highlighting possible strengths and weaknesses. This review shows current approaches in sustainable techniques in RM production processes, ethical issue, environmental and processing responsibility of RM producers, as well as social responsibilities and ethical practices of slaughterhouses and RM producers, sustainable environmental practices of slaughterhouses, technological aspects and safety of RM and social drivers in RM market. The analysis of reviewed literature revealed the potential strategies for sustainable RM production.

Protein Biomarkers of Bovine Defective Meats at a Glance: Gel-Free Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap Analysis for Rapid Screening

An understanding of biological mechanisms that could be involved in the stress response of animal cattle prior to slaughter is critical to create effective strategies aiming at the production of high-quality meat. The sarcoplasmic proteome of directly extracted samples from normal and high ultimate pH (pHu) meat groups was studied through a straightforward gel-free strategy supported by liquid chromatography hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis. A stepped proteomic pipeline combining rapid biomarker hunting supported by qualitative protein Mascot scores followed by targeted label-free peptide quantification revealed 26 descriptors that characterized meat groups assayed. The functional study of the proposed biomarkers suggested their relevant role in metabolic, chaperone/stress-related, muscle contractility/fiber organization, and transport activities. The efficiency, flexibility, rapidity, and easiness of the methodology proposed can positively contribute to the creation of innovative proteomic alternatives addressing meat quality assessment.