Development of edible gels and films as potential strategy to revalorize entire male pork

The Effect of the Boar Taint Masking Strategy (Adding Dried Origanum vulgare or Allium sativum) on Sensory Characteristics

With increasing efforts to ban surgical castration, it is important to find ways to mask the level of boar taint in meat. The aim of this study was to test the possibility of masking boar taint or skatole levels by adding dried Origanum vulgare or Allium sativum and to evaluate consumer sensory preferences towards the skatole concentration in different carcass parts (longissimus lumborum; semimembranosus; neck chop and subcutaneous fat) and the masking strategy (addition of Allium sativum or Origanum vulgare). In the first experiment, the effect of the masking strategy was evaluated at three different skatole concentrations (0.069, 0.269 and 0.463 µg/g). The results showed that the samples with low and medium skatole levels were significantly different between the control group and the groups treated with Origanum vulgare or Allium sativum. In both cases, the addition of Allium sativum and Origanum vulgare had a positive effect on the parameters of abnormal odour and pleasantness of odour (p < 0.05). According to the results of the second experiment, meat samples from leaner parts, such as the neck chop semimembranosus and longissimus lumborum, not treated with Allium sativum and Origanum vulgare for masking, were significantly (p < 0.05) worse in terms of the occurrence of boar taint or abnormal odour than the masked samples. No significant differences were found between the two masking methods.

Enriched Pea Protein Texturing: Physicochemical Characteristics and Application as a Substitute for Meat in Hamburgers

There is currently a growing trend towards the consumption of vegetable protein, even if it shows some deficiencies in essential amino acids. It has been driven by consumer passion for health and wellness, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and the flexitarian lifestyle. However, the formulation of plant protein food analogues to meat products is complicated by the technological properties of isolated plant protein. One of the processes used to improve these properties is the texturisation of the protein by extrusion, as well as the use of other plant materials that can enrich the formulation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pea protein (PP) enriched with lucerne (L), spinach (S) and Chlorella (C) in powdered and texturised forms on the physicochemical properties and extrusion parameters, and to evaluate its technological and sensory quality as a meat analogue in vegetal hamburgers. Texturisation reduced the number of soluble components released, thus reducing the molecular degradation in extruded material. The texturised samples were significantly (p < 0.05) less hygroscopic than the non-textured samples. Once the properties of the powder and texturised had been analysed, they were used to prepare vegetal hamburgers. The addition of vegetable-enriched texturised samples with high chlorophyll content led to more intense colour changes in the vegetal hamburgers during cooking, with PP+C providing the darkest colouring, and also resulted in a final product more similar to a traditional meat hamburger, with higher overall and meat odour/flavour intensity, hardness, juiciness and chewiness, and less legume and spice odour and flavour. Overall, texturisation improved the technological properties of the enriched protein isolate, allowing for more efficient production of vegetal hamburgers.

Consumer perception of entire male pork coated with spiced edible films as a new product to mask boar taint

Pork production has undergone a shift towards the rearing of entire male pigs, however, its meat might carry with the presence of boar taint and it would be considered "unfit for human consumption". To offer a new alternative to the pork sector tailored to the needs of consumers, a viable option would be the use of edible spiced gelatin films to help minimize boar taint and improve its marketability. The responses of 120 regular meat consumers to entire pork with high levels of boar taint and castrated pork free of boar taint, both coated with spiced gelatin films were evaluated. They showed a similar response between entire and castrated male pork coated with spiced films, regardless of whether consumers usually detected unpleasant odours (as farm/animal) when consuming pork or not. Therefore, the new spiced films offer a new range of products to consumers as they contribute to the improvement of the sensory quality of entire male pork, especially among consumers who tend to buy new products.

Novel gels and films to mask boar taint in entire male pork

Boar taint masking strategies were developed using hydrocolloids and spices to produce edible gels and films. Carrageenan (G1) and agar-agar (G2) were used for the gels and gelatin (F1) and alginate+maltodextrin (F2) for the films. The strategies were applied to both castrated (control) and entire male pork with high levels of androstenone and skatole. The samples were evaluated sensorially by a trained tasting panel through quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). Lower hardness and chewiness of entire male pork, with high levels of boar taint compounds object of study, were found with the carrageenan gel, due to the better carrageenan gel adherence to the loin. The films showed that the gelatin strategy tended to have a certain "sweet" taste, and a higher overall masking than the alginate+maltodextrin film. In conclusion, a trained tasting panel found that gelatin film masked boar taint the most, followed by the alginate+maltodextrin film and the carrageenan-based gel.