Structural Changes, Electrophoretic Pattern, and Quality Attributes of Camel Meat Treated with Fresh Ginger Extract and Papain Powder.

Camel is a valuable source of meat for African and Asian countries; however, the most important problem associated with camel meat is its extreme toughness. This toughness has been attributed to its contents of connective tissue, which become more crossly linked in old animals. The toughness of camel meat decreases the consumer acceptance of this meat and reduces its chances of being utilized as a raw material for further processing into meat products. Ginger and papain were used in the current study as tenderizing enzymes, and the structural changes, electrophoretic pattern, physicochemical characteristics, and sensory scores of the treated meat were examined. The treatment of camel meat with ginger and papain resulted in marked destructive changes in the connective tissue and myofibers, and a reduction in the protein bands, with a consequent improvement in its tenderness. All the enzyme-treated samples exhibited significant increases in the protein solubility, with significant decreases in the shear-force values. Moreover, an improvement in the sensory scores of the raw and cooked meat and a reduction in the bacterial counts after the treatments were recorded. Ginger and papain induced a significant improvement in the physicochemical characteristics, sensory attributes, and bacterial counts of the camel meat; therefore, these materials can be utilized by meat processors to boost the consumer acceptance of this meat, and to increase its suitability as a raw material for further meat processing.

Methods for inactivation of Toxoplasma gondii cysts in meat and tissues of experimentally infected sheep.

This study utilized infectivity bioassays in cats and mice to assess the efficacy of inactivation of Toxoplasma gondii cysts in experimentally infected sheep meat and tissues subjected to chilling, freezing, heating, microwave cooking, and gamma ray irradiation. Heating at 60 degrees C or 100 degrees C for 10 minutes, freezing at either -10 degrees C for 3 days or -20 degrees C for 2 days, or irradiation at doses of 75 or 100 krad was sufficient to kill tissue cysts. Meanwhile, neither cooking in a microwave nor chilling at 5 degrees C for 5 days was sufficient to kill tissue cysts.