Effect of Packaging Type and Aging on the Meat Quality Characteristics of Water Buffalo Bulls.

The present study determined the effect of the packaging type and aging time on the meat quality of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bulls. A total of n = 36 longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles from n = 18 buffalo bulls were obtained. Half LL muscles were packed in modified atmosphere packaging (Hi-O2 MAP), vacuum packaging (VP), and oxygen-permeable packaging (OP) on day 1, while the other half were aged for 7 days. Meat instrumental color, cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) of the LL steaks were analyzed, both on unaged and aged buffalo meat. Color CIE L* and C* values on all display days and a* on the first 4 days of the simulated retail display under Hi-O2 MAP packaging were significantly higher than those of the VP and OP. WBSF and TBARS values were also higher under Hi-O2 MAP as compared to the other packaging. Steaks under OP exhibited lower cooking loss but higher TVB-N values than the MAP and VP. The 7-day-aged buffalo meat indicated higher instrumental color (L*, a* and C*), cooking loss, and lower WBSF values than fresh meat. This study concluded that Hi-O2 MAP improved the color; however, it negatively influenced the buffalo meat's WBSF and TBAR values. Furthermore, VP and aging were the most effective in decreasing the WBSF values of buffalo meat.

Effect of Animal Age, Postmortem Calcium Chloride Marination, and Storage Time on Meat Quality Characteristics of M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum of Buffalo Bulls.

This study investigated the effect of animal age, calcium chloride marination, and storage time on meat quality characteristics of buffalo bulls to suggest a cost-effective method of improving buffalo meat quality. The current study was designed considering the importance of buffalo meat and the usage of meat from spent buffalo animals in local markets of South Asian countries. A total of 36 animals comprised of 18 young and 18 spent buffalo bulls were selected. After slaughtering and 24 h of postmortem chilling, striploins were separated and cut into 16 steaks and equally divided into two groups, i.e., either marinated with calcium chloride or not. Meat quality characteristics were recorded on 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days of storage. The results showed that the pH value of young animals was higher than the value of spent animals and pH was increased over the storage time. Color b*, C*, and h* values were higher in spent animals as compared with the young animals; however, values of colors L* and h* were higher and a* was lower in marinated samples than the values of non-marinated samples. Color a* and C* values were increased and h* was decreased with lengthening the storage time. The meat cooking loss was higher in marinated and the water-holding capacity was higher in non-marinated meat samples. Shear force values were lower in young animals and marinated samples than the values of spent animals and non-marinated meat samples, respectively. Sensory characteristic scores of marinated samples were better than the non-marinated samples. In conclusion, calcium chloride marination can be used to improve the quality characteristics of buffalo meat.

Effect of Wet Aging on Color Stability, Tenderness, and Sensory Attributes of Longissimus lumborum and Gluteus medius Muscles from Water Buffalo Bulls.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of wet aging on meat quality characteristics of Longissimus lumborum (LL) and Gluteus medius (GM) muscles of buffalo bulls. Meat samples from six aging periods, i.e., 0 day (d) = control, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, and 35 d, were evaluated for pH, color, metmyoglobin content (MetMb%), cooking loss, water holding capacity (WHC), myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and sensory evaluation. The pH, instrumental color redness (a *), yellowness (b *), chroma (C *), and MetMb% values were increased, while the lightness (L *) and hue angle (h *) values showed non-significant (p > 0.05) differences in both LL and GM muscles in all aging periods. The cooking loss increased while WHC decreased till 35 days of aging. MFI values significantly (p < 0.05) increased, while WBSF values decreased; in addition, sensory characteristics were improved with the increase in the aging period. Overall, the color, tenderness, and sensory characteristics were improved in LL and GM muscles until 28 and 21 days of aging, respectively. Based on the evaluated meat characteristics, 28 days of aging is required to improve the meat quality characteristics of LL, whereas 21 days of aging is suitable for GM muscle.

Meat Production and Supply Chain Under COVID-19 Scenario: Current Trends and Future Prospects.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted meat production, supply chain, and meat prices that caused a severe socio-economic crisis worldwide. Initially, meat and meat products' prices increased due to less production and increased demand because of panic buying. Whereas, later on, both meat production and demand were significantly decreased due to lockdown restrictions and lower purchasing power of the consumers that results in a decrease in meat prices. In early April 2020, meat packing facilities started to shut down due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus among workers. Furthermore, meat producers and processors faced difficulty in harvesting and shipment of the products due to lockdown situations, decrease in labor force, restrictions in movement of animals within and across the country and change in legislation of local and international export market. These conditions adversely impacted the meat industry due to decrease in meat production, processing and distribution facilities. It is suggested that the integration among all the meat industry stakeholders is quite essential for the sustainability of the industry's supply chain to cope with such devastating conditions the future may hold. This review aimed to discuss different aspects of the meat industry and supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic and proposed some future directions.

Effect of Carcass Electrical Stimulation and Suspension Methods on Meat Quality Characteristics of Longissimus lumborum of Young Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Bulls.

Buffalo animals are slaughtered at their early age and carcasses are chilled rapidly which deteriorates its meat quality and decreases the consumer likeliness of buffalo meat. This study investigated the appropriate methods to prevent the quality deterioration of buffalo meat during chilling. Twenty four 18-mon-old buffalo bulls were slaughtered, electrically stimulated and suspended either by hip or achilles tendon. After 24 h postmortem, meat quality characteristics were recorded. Results showed that electrical stimulation (ES) led to rapid decline of carcass pH compared to non-ES method (p<0.05). Furthermore, electrically stimulated meat presented lower shear force accompanied with the higher CIE L*, a*, and b* values (p<0.05). Suspension methods only affect the meat shear values and were lowered in hip suspended samples. It can be concluded that ES combined with hip suspension can be adopted to prevent the meat quality deterioration of young buffalo bulls during postmortem storage.

Effect of lactic acid spray on microbial and quality parameters of buffalo meat.

We evaluated the effect of lactic acid spray on micro-flora, instrumental color, shelf-life and sensory attributes of buffalo meat displayed under Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Buffalo calf carcasses (n = 12) were sliced into equal sagittal halves, n = 6 halves were randomly assigned to each of four treatments i.e. 2% LA, 4% LA, 6% LA and control. Afterwards, sirloin and tenderloin were vacuum packed and aged for 7 days. Later, steaks were packed in high-oxygen MAP. Microbial load, instrumental color, shelf-life and sensory attributes were evaluated at different days. Aerobic plate count of sprayed carcass and steaks was significantly lower than un-sprayed control. Similarly, though non-significant, redness and chroma value of sprayed carcass meat was found better than un-sprayed control. Lactic acid sprayed meat did not differ in terms of sensory attributes. It is concluded that spraying buffalo carcasses with 2-4% lactic acid after slaughter not only enhances microbial quality but it may also improve its instrumental color.