Changing Australia's trading language has enhanced the implementation of objective carcase measurement technologies

In 2016 an Australian project, the Advanced Livestock Measurement Technologies project (ALMTech), was initiated to accelerate the development and implementation of technologies that measure lean meat yield and eating quality. This led to the commercial testing, and implementation of a range of new technologies in the lamb, beef, and pork industries. For measuring lean meat yield %, these technologies included dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, hand-held microwave systems, and 3-D imaging systems. For measuring beef rib-eye traits and intramuscular fat %, both pre- and post-chilling technologies were developed. Post-chilling, a range of camera systems and near infrared spectrophotometers were developed. While pre-chilling, technologies included insertable needle probes, nuclear magnetic resonance, and X-ray systems. Initially these technologies were trained to predict the pre-existing traits already traded upon within industry. However, this approach was limiting because the technologies could measure attributes that were either non-existent in the trading language, were superior as calibrating standards, or more accurately reflected value than the pre-existing trait. Therefore, we introduced IMF% into the trading language for both beef and sheep meat, and carcase lean%, fat%, and bone% for sheep meat. These new technologies and the traits that they predict have delivered multiple benefits. Technology provider-companies are instilled with the confidence to commercialise due to the provision of achievable accreditation standards. Processors have the confidence to invest in these technologies and establish payment grids based upon their measurements. And lastly, it has enhanced data flow into genetic databases, industry data systems (MSA), and as feedback to producers.

Effects of pre-emulsified safflower oil with magnetic field modified soy 11S globulin on the gel, rheological, and sensory properties of reduced-animal fat pork batter

In this work, the differences in macrostructure and microstructure, rheology, and storage stability of pre-emulsified safflower oil (PSO) prepared by natural and magnetic field modified soy 11S globulin were analysised. It was concluded that the PSO with magnetic field modified soy 11S globulin (MPSO) has better emulsifying activity and physical stability. The changes in gel quality, oxidational sensitivity, rheological, and sensory properties of pork batters with different substitute ratios (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of pork back-fat by MPSO with magnetic field modified soy 11S globulin were studied. Compared to the sample without MPSO, pork batter with MPSO showed higher emulsion stability, apparent viscosity, L^⁎ value, springiness, cohesiveness, and expressible moisture, while lower a^⁎ value and cooking loss. Moreover, added MPSO could be more uniformly distributed into the meat matrix with smaller holes. With the increase in the replacement proportion of pork back-fat, the hardness, water- and fat-holding capacity, and P₂₁ of pork batter significantly decreased (P < 0.05). As revealed by sensory evaluation and TBARS, using MPSO to substitute for pork back-fat decreased the lipid oxidational sensitivity of pork batter, and without negative effects on the appearance, juiciness and overall acceptability. Overall, it is feasible to apply MPSO as a pork-fat replacer to produce reduced-animal fat pork batter with excellent gel and sensory properties.

Ultrasound-assisted processing: Changes in gel properties, water-holding capacity, and protein aggregation of low-salt Hypophthalmichthys molitrix surimi by soy protein isolate

The effects of ultrasound combined (25 kHz, 400 ± 20 W/L, ultrasonic time of 5, 10 and 15 min) with soy protein isolate processing on gelling properties of low-salt silver carp surimi, aggregation and conformation of myofibrillar protein were investigated. The results revealed that, compared with only adding soy protein isolate components, ultrasound-assisted soy protein isolate had a more obvious effect on the protein structure in low-salt surimi, leading to the decrease in α-helix and total sulfhydryl contents, and the increase in β-sheet content and protein solubility. As a result, more proteins participated in the formation of the gel network, and significant improvements in hardness, gel strength and water-holding capacity of the low-salt surimi gel were observed, while the myosin heavy chain in SDS-PAGE was weakened. The low-field NMR results showed that the initial relaxation time of T₂ was apparently shorter, the free water content decreased and the bound water content increased under the action of ultrasound. Scanning electron microscope observation found that the surimi gel treated by ultrasound exhibited smaller holes, and had a more stable and denser network structure. In conclusion, the results of our work demonstrated that ultrasound combined with soy protein isolate can significantly improve the gel quality properties of low-salt silver carp.

Molecular Dynamics and Chain Length of Edible Oil Using Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are widely used to identify pure substances and probe protein dynamics. Edible oil is a complex mixture composed of hydrocarbons, which have a wide range of molecular size distribution. In this research, low-field NMR (LF-NMR) relaxation characteristic data from various sample oils were analyzed. We also suggest a new method for predicting the size of edible oil molecules using LF-NMR relaxation time. According to the relative molecular mass, the carbon chain length and the transverse relaxation time of different sample oils, combined with oil viscosity and other factors, the relationship between carbon chain length and transverse relaxation time rate was analyzed. Various oils and fats in the mixed fluid were displayed, reflecting the composition information of different oils. We further studied the correlation between the rotation correlation time and the molecular information of oil molecules. The molecular composition of the resulting fluid determines its properties, such as viscosity and phase behavior. The results show that low-field NMR can obtain information on the composition, macromolecular aggregation and molecular dynamics of complex fluids. The measurements of grease in the free-fluid state show that the relaxation time can reflect the intrinsic properties of the fluid. It is shown that the composition characteristics and states of complex fluids can be measured using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance.

A rapid and non-destructive method for detecting the water-holding capacity of pork using composite film

Water-holding capacity (WHC) is an important indicator of pork quality, but the existing detection methods of WHC are either expensive or time-consuming. In this study, a new method of pork WHC detection was developed by a composite film. The preparation method, mechanical properties and service life of the composite film were studied. The result showed that composite film was 0.46 ± 0.06 mm thick and had a service life of 21 days, tensile strength of 7.72 ± 0.11 MPa and the elongation at break of 28.54 ± 0.15%. Thirty groups of pork samples were randomly selected to build the model and another twenty groups were used to verify the model accuracy. Results showed that the accuracy of composite film coupled with Fisher discriminant model to detect the WHC of pork is 90%. This study demonstrates the high value of composite film as a detection tool to classify WHC of pork.