Source: IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1008854
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
IOW03721
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Dec 16, 2015
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2020
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Dickson, JA, S.
Recipient Organization
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
2229 Lincoln Way
AMES,IA 50011
Performing Department
Animal Science
Non Technical Summary
The objective of this product is to improve the quality and safety of meat and poultry produced in the United States. The efforts begin on the farm, helping livestock producers grow healthier animals which are more efficient in the production of human food. The research will result in practical guidelines for animal producers, as well as diagnostic tests to help the producer. At the processing level, researchers are active in the development of a number of formulation and processing changes which will be used by the meat and poultry industry. This project will also provide information to the consumer, by supporting dissemination of the information to the consumer. This project will continue to improve the quality and safety of American meat and poultry products, providing U.S. consumers with safer products and helping us to maintain our major role in the International markets.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5013320100020%
5013520110010%
5013520200010%
5017220100010%
5023320200010%
5023520200010%
7123320110010%
7123320309010%
7123520110010%
Knowledge Area
501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies; 712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins; 502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
3320 - Meat, beef cattle; 3520 - Meat, swine; 7220 - Sensory evaluation/analysis methods (human senses);

Field Of Science
3090 - Sensory science (human senses); 1100 - Bacteriology; 1000 - Biochemistry and biophysics; 2000 - Chemistry;
Goals / Objectives
Definition of physiological pathways and biochemical determinants of fresh meat quality.Development of methods to predict fresh beef and pork quality.To investigate the formulation of cured processed meats with supplementary nitrate for physical, chemical and biological properties of the products, and for the potential of added nitrate to positively affect human health.To study the performance of non-meat binders (iota-carrageenan, alginate, transglutaminase, collagen, soy isolate, whey proteins) in finely comminuted meat products with reduced salt content when subjected to different physical processing procedures (grinder, chopper, emulsion mill) for control of product yield and texture.Increase the use and value of egg yolk by diversifying the use and adding nutritional/functional value to egg yolk components.To determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of nonmeat ingredients and processing technologies that qualify for use with natural and organic products on the safety of natural and organic processed meats.Assess the impact of process interventions on the level of microbiological contamination on fresh and processed meats. This objective will focus on emerging public health concerns such as the survival of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, as well as practical aspects such as spoilage bacteria.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Two models will be used. A model system approach will be used to test the hypothesis that modified environments (oxidation, pH, temperature), in combination with presence of stress related proteins such influence the efficacy of the calpain system to remain active in the early postmortem muscle environment. The second approach will utilize known animal models that demonstrate differences in muscle metabolism in response to stress or increased muscle growth. These models both show that differences in the aforementioned proteins, along with differences in early postmortem metabolism can affect myofibrillar protein degradation.Objective 2: Pork loins will be selected to demonstrate a variation in pork quality. This will occur in different slaughter plants and different days. Raman spectral data will be measured on chops from the 10th rib region on one day postmortem and 14 days postmortem. Fresh pork pH, color, water holding capacity and lipid content will be measured. Fresh (never frozen) pork loin chops (two per loin) will be used for sensory analysis on days 14, 15, 16 postmortem. Color and pH of each chop will be measured. Chops will be cooked to an internal temperature of 68°F in clamshell grills and cookloss will be measured. Cooked chops will be prepared for trained panel sensory quality (tenderness, chewiness, juiciness, flavor, off-flavor) evaluation using a trained panel. Sensory data will be collected using a computerized sensory software system with a minimum of eight panelists used in each setting.Raman spectrosensing: Two methods will be developed to predict/classify pork loin tenderness based on their Raman spectral data. We will develop direct regression models to calculate the predicted sensory tenderness values and the shear force using the spectra data, correlated with the known sensory tenderness data and shear force data, respectively.Biomarker development: Fresh pork and beef loin varying in sensory quality will be selected to determine how protein profile, protein modifications, and protein degradation can influence fresh beef and pork quality. Protein degradation, calpain activation, and calpastatin activity will be determined as described our laboratory. Successful completion of this project will give direction to efforts aimed at decreasing the incidence of this defect.Objectives 3 and 4: Ham, frankfurters and cotto salami will be formulated and manufactured with the USDA-approved concentrations of 156 ppm sodium nitrite and 1760 ppm sodium nitrate plus celery powder concentrate (natural source of nitrate) to bring the total nitrate concentration to ~3,000 ppm (celery powder is not considered a nitrate source by the USDA, thus such formulation meets USDA regulations).Finished products will be packaged and evaluated for nitrite and nitrate concentrations, Hunter color values, thiobarbituric acid values microbial numbers and sensory properties during 90 days of refrigerated storage. In addition, if supplementary funding can be secured, these products will be used in human feeding trials to assess circulatory nitrate and nitric oxide concentrations as well as physiological parameters including blood pressure and blood triglycerides. With suitable replication, it is expected that this experiment will demonstrate the feasibility of nitrate supplementation for processed meats to offer potentially positive human health effects. This would not be so valuable as a marketing tool as it would be for overcoming some of the current negative perceptions that consumers have of cured meat products. Finely comminuted meat mixtures of lean meat, fat, 2.5% salt and added water will be prepared with a constant 30% fat content to serve as controls, and a reduced salt formulation (1.5%) will be prepared as a negative control. Experimental product batches with non-meat binders will include 1.5% salt plus one of iota carrageenan, alginate, transglutaminase, collagen, soy isolate or whey protein. Each mixture will be sampled using Rongey centrifuge tubes, cooked, centrifuged and separated fat and water measured to calculate stability as reflected by % fat and % water lost. Finished product texture will be assessed using a texture profile analysis (TPA) measured with a Texture Analyzer TA XT2i.Objective 5: 1) A sequential separation method for IgY, phosvitin, neutral lipids, phospholipids, and proteins from egg yolk will be developed. For the separation of protein components, dilution, centrifugation, pH adjustment, salt precipitation, ultrafiltration, and freeze-drying processes will be used. 2) Using the separated phosvitin, bioactive phosphopeptides will be produced using pressurized heat-enzyme hydrolysis combinations; 3) From the separated phospholipids, bioactive lipids will be produced using phospholipases. The enzyme modification of phospholipids will also be used as a tool to separate bioactive lipids using supercritical fluid extraction technology. The physicochemical, functional, and structural characteristics of the bioactive peptides and bioactive lipids produced will be determined for their potential applications in food as well as non-food sectors. Separating components will diversify the use of egg yolk, and producing bioactive peptides and bioactive lipids will increase the nutritional values of phosvitin and phospholipids. Increasing the use and value of egg yolk by producing new products through separation and modifications of yolk components will improve the sustainability of U.S. egg industry.Objective 6. To assess the impact of antimicrobial ingredients in natural and organic processed meats with reduced salt content, smoked boneless ham and cooked turkey rolls will be manufactured. Controls without the antimicrobial but with 2.5% salt will be included. Packages will be inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes as previously done in our laboratory to assess the survival or survival and growth of the organism during refrigerated storage of the products.Objective 7. The primary genera of bacteria to be evaluated will be Salmonella, Campylobacter (jejuni and coli), Escherichia, and Enterococcus. These organisms parallel the bacteria that are commonly evaluated by NARMS in their retail meat studies. A set of cultures which are pan-susceptible to the antibiotics evaluated in the NARMS retail meat surveys will be established. Other cultures of the same species which are multiple drug resistant (defined as resistant to at least one drug in at least three different classes of antibiotics) will be used for comparative purposes. The pan-susceptible and multiple drug resistant bacteria will be inoculated on to the respective carcasses, and the interventions will be applied in a laboratory setting.As an example, pan-susceptible and multiple drug resistant bacteria will be inoculated onto pork skin, to simulate the surface of a pork carcass. Half of the samples will treated with a process to mimic scalding, approximately 58°C for six minutes, while the other half will serve as controls. The net change in populations between the pan-susceptible and multiple drug resistant bacteria will be compared, to determine the effect of scalding on the survival of multiple drug resistant bacteria, in comparison to their pan-susceptible counterparts. The interventions will be compared using principle component and factor analysis, which compares the relationship of different variables, and then attempts to identify factors which are similar. This tiered system will place interventions which have equivalent effects within the same tier, and ranks the tiers from most effective to least effective, based solely on the interventions impact on antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

Progress 12/16/15 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience was primarily academic, regulatory and industry scientists, although the outputs are useful to a broad range of other individuals, including educators and the general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided training for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral students and visitng scientists. The information was also conveyed to industry professionals by means of workshops ans short courses.Multiple cured and processed meat short courses were held in 2020 at the Iowa State Meat Laboratory which served over 107 attendees. These courses featured work done by the investigators on quality and safety of fresh and processed meat products. Additionally, HACCP training was completed for 45 meat processors from Iowa and surrounding states with the aid of multiple investigators from the project. Many more courses were planned but had to be canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. Also, short course planning and content expansion/content editing were undertaken in 2020 to be utilized in 2021 programming. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Scientific publications, presentations at scientific meetings, extension/outreach programs such as workshops and short courses, as well as popular press articles that would be relevant to a less technical audience. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Definition of physiological pathways and biochemical determinants of fresh meat quality: In beef, we confirmed a connection between calpain proteinases and beef quality. Modification of calpain proteinases was documented to impact calpain activity and, therefore, impact fresh meat quality. Therefore, perimortem and postmortem events that influence this activity should be monitored. Notably, lipid deterioration also influences fresh meat quality. However, phospholipid deterioration during postmortem storage of pork was not specifically linked to variation in fresh pork quality. 2. Development of methods to predict fresh meat quality:Proteomics and Raman spectroscopy instrumentation identified methods, targets, and practices that can be applied to predict quality and assign value to fresh beef and pork. Several methods could be used to measure meat quality. Results document practical specifications for fresh pork quality.Physical and imaging technologies to determine fresh meat quality with non-invasive methods can improve grading and value determination accuracy. 3. To investigate the formulation of cured processed meats with supplementary nitrate for physical, chemical and biological properties of the products, and for the potential of added nitrate to positively affect human health: Wedemonstration that nitrite-embedded packaging film, which is USDA approved for fresh meat color stability is effective for maintaining color of cured meat products as well. This is a novel application of the packaging film that has not been studied previously and provided a means of improving the stability of naturally-cured meats that typically have a reduced nitrite concentration.We also demonstrated that cooked cured meats with added sodium nitrate will provide a potential dietary source of nitric oxide as a dietary supplement of nitric oxide for improving human health. The concentration of added nitrate in a fully cooked product is not changed in the process nor does it alter the product residual nitrite concentrations. 4. To study the performance of non-meat in finely comminuted meat products with reduced salt content when subjected to different physical processing procedures for control of product yield and texture:Two completed studiesdemonstrated that rice bran wax/soybean oil oleogels can effectively replace pork fat in all-pork frankfurters and bologna sausage with little to no impact to the product's sensory properties. A separate study evaluated the use of citrus fiber as a potential replacer for phosphates in all-pork bologna and whole muscle turkey breast. Results demonstrated that this ingredient can provide certain functional properties that may enable it to be part of a multi-ingredient phosphate replacement strategy, but not to be a single phosphate replacer. In another study we observed that the physical properties of myofibrillar proteins from mechanically separated chicken (MSC) and chicken breast meat differ during thermal gelation, resulting in significant variations in finished product quality, underscoring the importance of understanding the properties of raw materials that affect processing functionality. 5. Increase the use and value of egg yolk by diversifying the use and adding nutritional/functional value to egg yolk components:An environment-friendly sequential separation method for IgY, phosvitin, neutral lipids, phospholipids, and proteins from egg yolk has been developed. The separation for IgY, phosvitin, and other yolk proteins only used dilution, centrifugation, pH adjustment, salt precipitation, ultrafiltration, and freeze-drying processes. The separated immunoglobulin Y and phosvitin showed high purity (> 90-95%). For the extraction and separation of neutral lipids and phospholipids from the residues of IgY and phosvitin separation, ethanol and hexane, which are permitted for use in human foods, were used. The method developed separated very high purity neutral lipids and phospholipids (> 95%) from the yolk and the method was highly efficient. Using the separated phosvitin, bioactive phosphopeptides were produced using pressurized heat-enzyme hydrolysis combinations. The molecular sizes of the functional phosphopeptides produced were mostly within the desired ranges (500-2,000 Da). The pressurized heat pre-treatment hydrolyzed phosvitin at random sites and the combination of enzymes to the pressurized heat pre-treatment was helping the hydrolysis of peptides further, even in the core part of the phosvitin molecule. The phosvitin phosphopeptides produced showed very strong metal-binding capacity, antioxidant and anticancer effects, and showed the high possibility to be used as metal (calcium or iron) supplementing agents to prevent/cure osteoporosis or anemia, anti-cariogenic agents, antioxidants to retard aging processes in the skin, and to improve food quality and safety by inhibiting oxidative changes and preventing microbial growth in foods during storage. In addition to egg yolk, a separation method for ovoinhibitor from egg white has been developed. This protein is known as a proteolytic enzyme inhibitor and inhibits bacterial serine proteinase, fungal serine proteinase, and chymotrypsin, and can be used as antimicrobial agents in food processing. Also, the separation method of ovoinhibitor was combined with the sequential separation of multiple other proteins from egg white that we have developed previously. 6. To determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of nonmeat ingredients and processing technologies that qualify for use with natural and organic products on the safety of natural and organic processed meats:On the meat side of work, the relationships among lipid/protein oxidation, color changes, off-taste, and off-odor in the irradiated raw beef round eye were studied. Irradiation significantly increased sulfur volatiles, lipid and protein oxidation, and degraded nucleotides, which contributed to the odor and taste changes (increase in sourness and decrease in umami taste) of the raw beef round eye. To control irradiation odor, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and Triacetyl-β-cyclodextrin (TA-β-CD) functionalized fiber mat has been developed using an electrospinning process. The TA-β-CD functionalized LDPE fiber mat absorbed the three major sulfur odor compounds, including dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and carbon disulfide (CDS), were effective. Especially, the reduction of DMDS was up to 90.33%, suggesting that tailoring electrospun LDPE and TA-β-CD fiber mat has a strong potential to be used as an active packaging material to develop the off- odor removal system for food or healthcare packaging application.Experiments to improve bacon quality were planned during 2020 that will be conducted in the beginning of 2021. Experimental design and methodology development were completed in 2020 for oxidative stability, sensory, and color analysis for bacon samples along with graduate student recruitment and on-boarding. Additionally, raw bellies needed for specific experimental objectives were secured from distinct fat saturation populations. 7. Assess the impact of process interventions on the level of microbiological contamination on fresh and processed meats: Several different natural antimicrobials (vinegar, essential oils) were evaluated for their ability to inhibit foodborne pathogens, such as Salmonella and Listeria. Research was conducted which allowed the identification of process control indicator bacteria for both cooking and high hydrostatic pressure treatment of ground beef and the irradiation of spices.The response of foodborne pathogens to different all-natural brines and to extended cook cycles was documented. indicating the potential level of safety associated with those different brine formulations and alternate processes. The antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella islated from commercial swine abbatoirs was also documented.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Ruther, B., J. Dickson, K. Prusa and J. Sebranek. 2020. Effects of processing method and non-meat binding ingredients on batter stability, yield and texture of frankfurters. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation (accepted 09 May 2020).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cropp, M.S., J.S. Dickson, R. Tarte and J.G. Sebranek. 2020. Use of Nitrite-Embedded Packaging Film for Color Stability of Alternatively Cured, Fully Cooked Bologna. Meat and Muscle Biology 4(1):117.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Niebuhr, S.E., E.M. Larson and J.S. Dickson 2020. The Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure on the Color, Texture and Microbiology of Selected Pork Organ Meats. Advances in Food Processing and Technology 3(1):1-6.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Feng, Q., T. Frana, C. M. Logue, J. D. McKean, H. S. Hurd, A. M. OConnor, J. S. Dickson, S. Zhu and G. Li. 2020. Comparison of antimicrobial resistance profiles in Salmonella spp. from swine upon arrival and post-slaughter at the abattoir. Microbial Drug Resistance. Accepted 18 Dec 2020.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Kiprotich, S., A. F. Mendonca, J. Dickson, A. Shaw, E. Thomas-Popo, S. White, R. Moutiq and S. A. Ibrahim. 2020. Thyme Oil Enhances the Inactivation of Salmonella enterica on Raw Chicken Breast Meat During Marination in Lemon Juice with Added Yucca schidigera Extract. Frontiers in Microbiology. (accepted 29 December 2020)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Cumplido-Barbeita, G., J. L. Davila-Ramirez, J. G. Sebranek, C. Barron-Ayala and M. Valenzuela. 2020. Pork frankfurters prepared with hydrolyzed whey: Product quality aspects and inhibitory activity of the resulting peptides on angiotensin-converting enzyme. Meat Sci. 166:
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Miller, D.K., N.C. Acevedo, S.M. Lonergan, J.G. Sebranek and R. Tarte. 2019. Rheological characteristics of mechanically separated chicken and chicken breast trim myofibrillar solutions during thermal gelation. Food Chem. 307:125557.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Powell, M. J., J. G. Sebranek, K. J. Prusa and R. Tarte. 2019. Evaluation of citrus fiber as a natural replacer of sodium phosphate in alternatively-cured, all-pork Bologna sausage. Meat Sci. 157:107883.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Blakely, A., K.J. Prusa, C. A. Fedler, G. B. Sherrard, E. M. Steadham, K. J. Stalder, C. L. Lorenzen, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2019. The effect of rapid chilling of pork carcasses during the early postmortem period on fresh pork quality. Meat and Muscle Biology 3:424-432. doi:10.22175/mmb2019.07.0023
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chao, M. D., E. A. Donaldson, W. Wu, A. A. Welter, T. G. OQuinn, W.-W. Hsu, M. D. Schulte, and S. M. Lonergan. 2020.Characterizing membrane phospholipid hydrolysis of pork loins throughout three aging periods. Meat Science. 163:108065. Doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108065
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, R., S. Lonergan, E. Steadham, G. Zhou, W. Zhang, E. Huff-Lonergan. 2019. Effect of nitric oxide on myofibrillar proteins and the susceptibility to calpain-1 proteolysis. Food Chemistry 276:63-70. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.10.005)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, R., S. Lonergan, E. Steadham, G. Zhou, W. Zhang, E. Huff-Lonergan. 2019. Effect of nitric oxide and calpastatin on the inhibition of �-calpain activity, autolysis, and proteolysis of myofibrillar proteins. Food Chemistry 275:77-84. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.104)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Oliveira, L., E. Delgado, E. M. Steadham, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2019. Association of calpain and calpastatin activity to postmortem myofibrillar protein degradation and sarcoplasmic protein changes in longissimus lumborum and triceps brachii. Meat Science 155:50-60.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Schulte, M.D., L. G. Johnson, E. A. Zuber, E. M. Steadham, D.A. King, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2020. Investigation of the sarcoplasmic proteome contribution to the development of pork loin tenderness. Meat and Muscle Biology 4(1):8, 1-14. doi:10.22175/mmb.9566
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Tart� R, Paulus JS, Acevedo NC, Prusa KJ, Lee SL. 2020. High-oleic and conventional soybean oil oleogels structured with rice bran wax as alternatives to pork fat in mechanically separated chicken-based bologna sausage. LWT - Food Sci Technol. 131:109659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109659


Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences are the meat and poultry industry, the government regulatory bodies (both federal and state) and the consumer. The information from this project will be used to inform and in some cases educate the meat and poultry industry. The scientific information will be provided to the government regulatory bodies as needed. The information will also be provided to consumers in a format appropriate for that audience Changes/Problems:There have been no major changes in the project direction or approach. The problems which have been encountered are technical in nature, and are solved in the research laboratory. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided training opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students, as well as to industry. The information from this project has been presented in traditional classes to both graduate and undergraduate students, and in workshops, where the audiences are primarily industry. The project has also include some hand-on training for both graduate and undergraduate students, both as short term, 1 - 2 hour sessions, and in extended contact periods. In addition, scientists from other countries have visited for various lengths of time. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The information developed within this project has been disseminated to the target audiences. Specifically, there have been presentations at national and international scientific meetings to provide technical information to both the industry and regulatory bodies. Additional conference calls and webinars have occurred to provide more detail to the industry and regulatory bodies. The information has been included in short course presentation, where the audiences were primarily industry. The information has been disseminated to the consuming public in an appropriate format through news and social media outlets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The objectives of this project are to characterize food safety risks, develop science based interventions and to communicate the messages to stakeholders. The research planned to be conducted during the next year will be a continuation of the projects involving process deviations with ham and bacon, as well as interventions for apple juice. The communication objective will be the same as last year, focusing on appropriate communication messages to the diverse target audiences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Overall, the research from this project has contributed substantially to enhancing the safety and quality of meat. The project has contributed to our fundamental understanding of the changes in the chemistry of muscle during cooling, and how these changes can impact the overall quality of the meat, as perceived by the consumer. This work has also contributed to correlating various objective measures with muscle quality, which allows for a better comparison of the results of different methods of analysis on the quality of the meat. A new technology, which involves the inclusion of specific processing aids into the package was evaluated. This will help the industry determine the potential and limits of the new technology, which ultimately may benefit the consumer in higher quality processed meats with a longer usable shelf life. Finally, a systematic review of microbiological interventions was undertaken to evaluate the impact of these interventions on salmonellae. The systematic review compares the results of many different published studies, with the intent of determining an overall conclusion from the published results. Objective 1. Define physiological pathways and biochemical determinants of fresh meat quality. A high value biomarker for fresh pork quality and value should be evident early in processing so products can be marked for premiums for the consumer market, or targeted for value added processing.Detection of these biomarkers will aid in improving value of pork in domestic and export markets. Accurate categorization of pork quality will improve consumer satisfaction and define consumer expectations. Previous studies have found myofibrillar proteins, such as myosin were re-localized in the soluble fraction. A difference in water-soluble muscle protein profile at 45 min postmortem has been observed. A primary difference was the presence of myosin heavy chain (MHC) at approximately 200 kDa, demonstrating that conditions of skeletal muscle early postmortem could impact the fate of MHC. The objective of our study was to understand the relationship between the abundance of soluble MHC in early PM muscle and pH decline as well as fresh pork quality and value. Drip loss was determined on chops between 1 and 3 d of storage. At the completion of aging (14 d), fresh chops were used to determine color score, pH, cook loss, and star probe (kg) values. The results demonstrate that the abundance of soluble MHC is dependent on rate of pH decline and a greater abundance may indicate slower metabolism. However, in this study there were no indications that classification based on soluble MHC in the early PM period could be utilized to predict fresh pork quality. While soluble MHC was not detected after the completion of rigor, early onset of rigor in PM metabolism could potentially be identified through the sarcoplasmic protein profile of skeletal muscle. Collectively, these observations show the connection between the rate of early PM pH decline on soluble MHC. The results suggest that muscle pH and time PM should both be considered when conducting trials aimed at defining earlypost mortemproteomic characteristics in pork. Objective 2. Develop methods to predict fresh beef and pork quality. Research this period was conducted to determine the correlation of two common instrument methods (Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) and Star probe (SP)) to determine pork tenderness of fresh pork loin, and to determine if post aging freezing influenced WBS or SP values.Post aging freezing did not affect SP or WBS values. SP was correlated (r = 0.85; P < 0.01) with WBS. Chop SP and WBS decreased from 1 to 8 d aging but was not different after 8 d aging. The work is significant because it confirms that several methods of tenderness evaluation can be used and can effectively determine differences between samples. This will help establish baselines for quality specifications for fresh pork for consumer ready branded products. Objective 3. Completed and reported previously Objective 4: No progress to report. Objective 5. Increase the use and value of egg yolk by diversifying the use and adding nutritional/functional value to egg yolk components. Phosvitin, the most phosphorylated proteins in the nature, from egg yolk has been used to produce functional phosphopeptides, and the structural characteristics of the phosphopeptides were determined. A pretreatment consisted of high temperature and mild pressure (HTMP) combination was employed to help the enzymatic hydrolysis of phosvitin. The phosvitin phosphoppetides produced are expected to have similar functions to the casein phosphopepeptides and can be used as metal (calcium or iron) supplementing agents to prevent/cure osteoporosis or anemia, anticariogenic agents, antioxidants to retard aging processes in the skin, and to improve food quality and safety by inhibiting oxidative changes and preventing microbial growth in foods during storage. However, the hydrolysis data of phosvitin themselves do not show the functionalities and bioactivities of the phosphopeptides produced and thus future works on the functionality of the PPP produced are very important for the applications of the PPP in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical areas. Objective 6. Determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of nonmeat ingredients and processing technologies. Nitrite-embedded packaging film technology was shown to improve cured color stability of low-nitrite cured meat products, typical of natural and organic cured meats. This will reduce product waste that results from cured color fading and rejection by consumers. Further, this novel film technology has been shown to develop cured color when used for cooked products to which absolutely no nitrite has been added. This holds potential for an entirely new category of products that would have extremely low nitrite concentrations and which would be appealing to many consumers. Objective 7. Assess the impact of process interventions on the level of microbiological contamination on fresh and processed meats. The inclusion of deep tissue lymph nodes (DTLNs) or nonvisceral lymph nodes contaminatedwith Salmonella in wholesale fresh ground pork (WFGP) production may pose risks to publichealth. To assess the relative contribution of DTLNs to human salmonellosis occurrence associatedwith ground pork consumption and to investigate potential critical control points in the slaughter-to-table continuum for the control of human salmonellosis in the United States, aquantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model was established. The model predictedan average of 45 cases of salmonellosisper 100,000 Americans annuallydue to WFGP consumption. Sensitivity analysis of all input variables showed thatcooking temperature was the most influential parameter for reducing salmonellosis cases. These findings indicate that interventionsto reduce Salmonella contamination in DTLNs or to remove DTLNs from WFGP productsmay be less critical for reducing human infections attributable to ground pork than improvingconsumers' cooking habits or interventions of carcass decontamination at processing.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Helm, E. T., S. M. Curry, K. J. Schwartz, S. M. Lonergan, N.K. Gabler. 2019. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Lawsonia intracellularis dual challenge modulates intestinal integrity and function. Journal of Animal Science. 97:2376-2384.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: de Moura Souza, G., M. da Silva Coutinho, P. Maloso Ramos, G. Micai de Oliveira, S. M. Lonergan, E. F. Delgado. 2019. Tough aged meat presents greater expression of calpastatin, which presents postmortem protein profile and tenderization related to Nellore steer temperament. Meat Science 156:131-138. Doi. 10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.05.017.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Schulte, M.D., L. G. Johnson, E. A. Zuber, B. M. Patterson, A. C. Outhouse, C. A. Fedler, E. M. Steadham, D.A. King, K. J. Prusa, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2019. Influence of postmortem aging and post-aging freezing on pork loin quality attributes. Meat and Muscle Biology 3:313-323.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Graham, D., G. Bergeron, Gilles, M. Bourassa, J. Dickson, F. Gomes, A. Howe, L. Kahn, P. Morley, H. Scott, S. Simjee, R. Singer, T. Smith, C. Storrs, an T. Whittum.2019. Complexities in Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance across Domesticated Animal, Human and Environmental Systems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1441:1730.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Ritter, G.D., Acuff, G.R., Bergeron, G., Bourassa, M.W., Chapman, B.J., Dickson, J.S., Opengart, K., Salois, M.J., Singer, R.S. and Storrs, C. 2019. Antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections from foods of animal origin: Understanding and effectively communicating to consumers. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1441:4049.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Zhang, Y., OConnor, A.M., Wang, C., Dickson, J.S., Hurd, H.S., and Wang, B. 2019. Interventions targeting deep tissue lymph nodes may not effectively reduce the risk of salmonellosis from ground pork consumption: A quantitative microbial risk assessment. Risk Analysis DOI:10.1111/risa.13317
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Sindelar, J., K. Glass, R. Hanson, J.G. Sebranek, J. Cordray and J.S. Dickson. 2019. Validation of lethality processes for products with slow come up time: Bacon and bone-in ham. Food Control 104: 147-151.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Wolfer, T.L., N.C. Acevedo, K.J. Prusa, J.G. Sebranek and R. Tarte. 2018. Replacement of pork fat in frankfurter-type sausages by soybean oil oleogels structured with rice bran wax. Meat Sci.145:352-362.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Reyes-Padilla, E., M. Valenzuela-Melendres, J.P.Camou, J.G. Sebranek, H. Aleman-Mateo, J.L. Davila-Ramirez, G. Cumplido-Barbeitia and H. Gonzalez-Rios. 2018. Quality evaluation of low fat bologna-type meat product with a nutritional profile designed for the elderly. Meat Sci. 135:115-122.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, R., S. Lonergan, E. Steadham, G. Zhou, W. Zhang, E. Huff-Lonergan. 2019. Effect of nitric oxide and calpastatin on the inhibition of calpain activity, autolysis and proteolysis of myofibrillar proteins, Food Chemistry 275:77-84. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.104
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu, R., S. Lonergan, E. Steadham, G. Zhou, W. Zhang, E. Huff-Lonergan. 2019. Effect of nitric oxide on myofibrillar proteins and the susceptibility to calpain-1 proteolysis. Food Chemistry 276:63-70. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.10.005
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Oliveira, L., E. Delgado, E. M. Steadham, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2019. Association of calpain and calpastatin activity to postmortem myofibrillar protein degradation and sarcoplasmic protein changes in longissimus lumborum and triceps brachii. Meat Science 155:50-60.


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences include but are not limited to the industry, regulatory authorities, trade associations and consumers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training and professional development has been accomplished through outreach and extension progams for the industry and trade associations, interaction with regulatory agencies and training through graduate and undergraduate education. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through scientific presentations at both scientific and industry meetings, peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, communications with trade associations and general audience presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue ongoing research in all objectives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? IMPACT: Our research is focused on improving the quality and safety of meat and poultry produced in the US.Conducted 2 studies to determine how S-nitrosylation affects the calpain proteinases and key structural proteins in muscle. Classification models were developed to predict tenderness at two ends of sensory quality as "poor" vs. "good." Explored a new odor control method. Researched a novel technology for extending the cured color shelf life of natural and organic processed meat products.New knowledge from our research can assist meat producers and processors in selecting meats with superior quality and/or reduce poor quality to meet market expectations in both domestic and international markets. Other research findings offer the meat packaging industry a novel, organically-approved way to extend the shelf life of meat products that are manufactured with a reduced concentration of nitrite. Objective 1: Definition of physiological pathways and biochemical determinants of fresh meat quality. Postmortem proteolysis of meat proteins generally results in improvement of fresh meat tenderness, though all the factors that affect the rate and extent of this activity are not defined. Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule that is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the mammalian cell. NO can be produced by NOS activation in response to hypoxic/ischemia conditions). Hypoxic/ischemia conditions also occur in postmortem muscles. Modulations of NO level in pre-slaughter and post-slaughter muscle cells using NO donors and NOS inhibitors are reported to affect the meat quality attributes of tenderness, water holding capacity and color in a variety of animal species including beef, lamb, pork and chicken. However, variable NO effects on meat quality are observed across different animal species and muscles due to the pleiotropic functions of NO in vivo Protein S-nitrosylation is defined as the formation of S-nitrosothiol (SNO) by covalent attachment of NO moiety with protein sulfhydryl. Protein S-nitrosylation occurs in postmortem muscle as evidenced by the accumulation of S-nitrosylated proteins during postmortem aging of meat). It is hypothesized that nitrosylation of proteins in peri- and post- mortem muscle will impact early postmortem changes in protein that affect quality features such as tenderness that is achieved through natural postmortem aging processes. Therefore, the objectives of two studies were to determine how S-nitrosylation affects the calpain proteinases and key structural proteins in muscle. Objective 2: Our objective is to determine factors that influence fresh pork loin tenderness. This portion of the project was led by ISU faculty (Lonergan, Huff-Lonergan, Yu) to determine the utility of Raman spectroscopic signatures of fresh pork loin (1d & 15d postmortem) in predicting fresh pork tenderness and slice shear force (SSF) was determined. Partial least square models showed that sensory tenderness and SSF are weakly correlated (R2=0.2). Raman spectral data were collected in 6s using a portable Raman spectrometer (RS). A PLS regression model was developed to predict quantitatively the tenderness scores and SSF values from Raman spectral data, with very limited success. It was discovered that the prediction accuracies for day 15 post mortem samples are significantly greater than that for day 1 postmortem samples. Classification models were developed to predict tenderness at two ends of sensory quality as "poor" vs. "good." The accuracies of classification into different quality categories (1st to 4th percentile) are also greater for the day 15 postmortem samples for sensory tenderness (93.5% vs 76.3%) and SSF (92.8% vs 76.1%). RS has the potential to become a rapid on-line screening tool for the pork producers to quickly select meats with superior quality and/or remove poor quality to meet market demand/expectations. Objective 3: Nothing to report for this time period. Objective 4: Nothing to report for this time period. Objective 5: Nothing to report for this time period. Objective 6: Determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of nonmeat ingredients and processing technologies that qualify for use with natural and organic products on the safety of natural and organic processed meats. The relationships among lipid/protein oxidation, color changes, off- taste and off-odor in irradiated raw beef round eye were studied. Raw beef round eye was irradiated at different doses using a linear accelerator. Significant increases in lipid oxidation and protein oxidation were found in irradiated raw beef round eye, while significant decreases were observed in the color values. The degradation of nucleotides can contribute to the taste changes (increase in sourness and decrease in umami taste) in the irradiated raw beef round eye, which was further confirmed by the electronic tongue data. The sulfur volatiles (e.g.: dimethyl disulfide) from the sulfur-containing amino acids increased significantly after irradiation, indicating these are closely related to the off-odor of irradiated beef round eye. Also, we have explored a new odor control method using low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and Triacetyl- β-cy- clodextrin (TA-β-CD) functionalized fiber mat. The odor control system was prepared using an electrospinning process. The odors absorbing effectiveness of this system was examined using GC-MS. Three target sulfur odor compounds were effectively removed using the TA-β-CD functionalized LDPE fiber mat. Especially, the reduction of DMDS was up to 90.33%. The result suggested that tailoring electrospun LDPE and TA-β-CD fiber mat has a strong potential to be used as an active packaging material to develop the off- odor removal system for food or healthcare packaging application. Novel technology using a nitrite-imbedded packaging film was found to be an effective means of extending the cured color shelf life of natural and organic processed meat products that typically are manufactured with a reduced concentration of nitrite. The reduced nitrite often results in color fading during retail displays. The nitrite-imbedded film provides for greater color stability during storage, distribution and retail display. Objective 7: Assess the impact of process interventions on the level of microbiological contamination on fresh and processed meats. Spices are an intergral component of many processed meats, and therefore research which improves the safety of spices has a carryover effect with processed meats. Onion powder was inoculated with one of three groups of Salmonella enterica or a surrogate, Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354, and the radiation sensitivity of S. enterica was compared to E. faecium. Forthe inoculated onion powder, the radiation resistancewas greater for E. faecium than any of the three groups of S. enterica. This means that E. faecium can be used as a surrogate in process validation, as it is more resistant (less sensitive) to irradiation than S. enterica.Onion powder, dried oregano, whole cumin seeds or peppercorns were mixed with talc inoculated with either S. enterica (supplied by the US FDA and previously associated withfoodborne disease) or E. faecium and irradiated. The radiation resistance was calculated for each bacterial group and compared between E. faecium and S. enterica within each spice. For each spice, the radiation resistancefor E. faecium was either not statistically different from S. enterica or greater than that of S. enterica. Mathmatical models were developed to allow the estimation of potential surviving populations, and potential reductions of S. enterica, based on surviving populations and population reductions determined with E. faecium. The use of E. faecium and these mathematical models would allow a processor to validate an irradiation process by estimating the reduction in S. enterica, based on the population reductions of E. faecium.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Woerner, D.R., I. Geornaras, J. N. Martin, K. E. Belk, G. R. Acuff and J. S. Dickson. 2018. Use of Non-Pathogenic Escherichia coli Surrogates as Predictors of the Survival of Non-Typhoidal Salmonella, non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli and E. coli O157 Populations after High Hydrostatic Pressure Processing. J. Food Prot. 81:1068⿿1072.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Wang, F., A. Mendonça, B. Brehm-Stecher, J. Dickson, A. DiSpirito, A. Shaw, and E. Thomas-Popo. 2018. Long-term-survival phase cells of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 have significantly greater resistance to ultraviolet radiation in 0.85% saline and apple juice. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 15(9):538-543.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Redemann, M.A., J. Brara, S. E. Niebuhr, L. M. Lucia, G. R. Acuff, J. S. Dickson, M. Singh. 2018. Evaluation of thermal process lethality for non-pathogenic Escherichia coli as a surrogate for Salmonella in ground beef. LWT ⿿ Food Science and Technology 90:290-296.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Duncan, S.E., K. Moberg, K. N. Amin, M. Wright, J. J. Newkirk, M. A. Ponder, G. R. Acuff and J. S. Dickson. 2017. Processes to Preserve Spice and Herb Quality and Sensory Integrity During Pathogen Inactivation. J. Food Science 82(5):1208-1215.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: J.G. Sebranek. 2018. Packaging for meat and meat products in The Science of Animal Growth and Meat Technology, Second Edition. S.M. Lonergan, D.G. Topel and D.N. Marple. (Academic Press, Elsevier). ISBN:978-0-12-815277-5


Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Sceintific and technical personnel in industry, government and academic positions. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduate students, undergraduate students and industry personnel by short courses How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at scientific meetings, short courses, peer-reviewed publications, technical support to industry and regulatory personnel. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue ongoing research in all objectives.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Impacts. Our researchgenerated new knowledge to improve the quality and safety of American meat and poultry products. The results of a meta-analysis this project perioddetermined that there had been no appreciable improvement in pork tenderness over the last twenty years. Research demonstrated that low fat processed meats formulated with non-traditional ingredients such as cranberries, prunes, pecans or flaxseed resulted in a high protein food source with low saturated fat and high antioxidant activity, thus providing a meat product with an improved nutritional profile for elderly consumers. Research demonstrated that rice bran wax and soybean oil could replace pork fat in a frankfurter formulation, producing a product with a healthier lipid profile. A scalable process was developed to extract high value bioactive proteins from eggs. Heat processing destroyed non-pathogenic surrogate bacteria in ground beef in a manner which could be correlated with non-typhoidal Salmonella, providing both the industry and regulatory agencies with a tool for evaluating thermal process in establishments. Obj 1. Nothing to report for this time period. Obj 2.One large meta-analysis was completed in an effort to determine the extent to which fresh pork loin tenderness has changed in the last 20 years. There was evidence of substantial between-study heterogeneity in the characteristics of control pigs used over the years for Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and measures of color. Using data from 228 experiments and only "control" animals in the time period, it was concluded that fresh pork quality (tenderness, color, pH) has not improved. Biochemical evaluation was conducted on subsets of fresh pork loin that demonstrate large differences in instrumental tenderness using star probe values. After aging (11-16 d, loins were classified into either a low star probe group (n = 12, 4.95 kg) or high star probe group (n = 12, 7.75 kg). Loin color and pH were not different in two populations. However, loins from the low star probe group showed greater marbling and lipid content. Further, loin chops from the more tender group demonstrated significantly greater extent of degradation of troponin-T, titin, desmin, and filamin. Lipid content and postmortem proteolysis were confirmed to be linked to the variation in the pork tenderness phenotype when pH and color were not different. However, proteolysis was confirmed to be an important determinant of tenderness. The objectives for these studies were to determine differences in sarcoplasmic proteomes that contribute to tenderness variation in aged pork loin.A defined set of pork loins selected to be similar in pH, color, and lipid, yet different in tenderness were utilized. Tenderness groups were defined based on star probe values. A high star probe group (HSP; n=12; mean star probe 7.75 kg), and a low star probe group (LSP; n=12; mean star probe 4.95 kg). Therefore, results of these independent studies demonstrate promise of using the abundance of a desmin degradation product in the sarcoplasmic fraction of early postmortem pork to predict fresh pork tenderness. Obj 3.Research demonstrated that low fat processed meats formulated with non-traditional ingredients such as cranberries, prunes, pecans or flaxseed resulted in a high protein food source with low saturated fat and high antioxidant activity, thus providing a meat product with an improved nutritional profile for elderly consumers. Research with citrus fiber as a natural alternative to phosphates in processed meats demonstrated that this ingredient has potential to provide the water binding and texture formation functions of phosphates in processed meats, thus addressing consumer concerns about the use of phosphates as an ingredient. Obj 4. Demonstrated that rice bran wax/soybean oil oleogels can effectively replace virtually 100% of the pork fat in a 20% fat all-pork frankfurter with little to no impact to the product's sensory properties. A separate study evaluated the use of citrus fiber as a potential replacer for phosphates in all-pork bologna and whole muscle turkey breast. Results demonstrated that this ingredient can provide certain functional properties that may enable it to be part of a multi-ingredient phosphate replacement strategy, but not to be a single phosphate replacer. Obj 5. Scalable sequential separation methods for IgY, phosvitin, neutral lipids, phospholipids, and proteins from egg yolk have been developed. The separation method for value-added proteins, which include immunoglobulin Y and phosvitin, used no toxic compounds but dilution, centrifugation, pH adjustment, salt precipitation, ultrafiltration, and freeze-drying processes. For the extraction and separation of neutral lipids and phospholipids from the residues of IgY and phosvitin separation, ethanol and hexane, which are permitted for use in human foods, were used.Using the separated phosvitin, bioactive phosphopeptides were produced using pressurized heat-enzyme hydrolysis combinations. The method developed dramatically improved the hydrolysis of phosvitin from the previously known methods. The physicochemical, functional, and structural characteristics of the bioactive peptides produced under way. Attempts were also made to separate individual phospholipid from egg yolk and produce bioactive lipids using phospholipases, but the separation of the modified phospholipids using the supercritical fluid extraction technology is on temporarily on hold. Obj 6. Research on cinnamaldehyde, a natural antimicrobial from cinnamon, showed this compound to be an effective inhibitor of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in vegetable and fruit juices, particularly when paired with high pressure processing, thus suggesting potential application to natural and organic processed meat products. Obj 7. Constituting one-third of all non-typhoidal Salmonella cases, Salmonella contamination in poultry, beef, pork, and lamb, can cause significant problems in processing facilities, resulting in foodborne illness. The US Department of Agricultures' Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has developed thermal lethality guidelines (Appendix A) for Salmonella inactivation in ready-to-eat (RTE) beef and poultry, but additional means of thermal processing validation are limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if non-pathogenic Escherichia coli isolates could be used as a surrogate for a mixed culture of Salmonella as means to validate thermal processing parameters per Appendix A. To develop thermal death time curves, ground beef at varying fat contents (5, 10, 20, 25, and 30%) was inoculated with either Salmonella or E. coli and heat treated in a water bath. At 54, 57, 60, and 63°C across all fat levels, the E. coli inoculum had significantly greater (P < 0.05) decimal-reduction values (D-values) than Salmonella. Beyond temperature 63°C, regardless of fat, the two inoculums were inactivated at similar rates (P > 0.05). Prolific growth and high-density yield indicate that the absence of the E. coli inoculum can however, ensure Salmonella inactivation at higher temperatures. The most appropriate use of the E. coli surrogates would be for predicting, ensuring, and validating thermal processing for Salmonella inactivation at lower temperatures. The effects of meat product composition and processing facility variables on the behavior of Salmonella and E. coli require further study.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Powell, M. J., C. Yuan, R. S. Dzikamunhenga, R. Tarte, E. Huff-Lonergan, S. M. Lonergan, and A. M. OConnor. 2017. A systematic review and meta-analysis of tenderness meterics in control groups used in comparative nutrition experiments. Translational Animal Science (doi:10.2527/tas2017.0031).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Carlson, K.B., K. J. Prusa, C. A. Fedler, E. M. Steadham, A.C. Outhouse, D. A. King, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2017. Postmortem protein degradation is a key contributor to fresh pork loin tenderness. Journal of Animal Science 95:1574-1586 (doi:10.2527/jas.2016.1032).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Outhouse, A. C., K.J. Prusa, C.A. Fedler, E.M. Steadham, M. D. Schulte, E. Huff-Lonergan, S.M. Lonergan. 2017. Influence of postmortem aging of fresh pork loin on instrumental tenderness and abundance of a soluble desmin degradation product. Proceedings of the 2017 Reciprocal Meat Conference. Texas A&M University. June, 2017.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Reyes-Padilla, E., Valenzuela-Melenres, M., Camou, J. P., Sebranek, J. G., Aleman-Mateo, H., Davila-Ramirez, J. L., Cumplida-Barbetia, G., Gonzalez-Rios, H. Quality evaluation of low fat bologna-type meat product with a nutritional profile designed for the elderly. Meat Sci. 135:115-122 (2018).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Manu, D., Mendonca, A. F., Daraba, A., Dickson, J. S., Sebranek, J. G., Shaw, A., Wang, F., White, S. Antimicrobial efficacy of cinnamaldehyde against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica in carrot juice and mixed berry juice held at 4� C and 12� C. Foodborne Path. Disease 14(5):302-307 (2017).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Duncan, S.E., K. Moberg, K. N. Amin, M. Wright, J. J. Newkirk, M. A. Ponder, G. R. Acuff and J. S. Dickson. 2017. Processes to Preserve Spice and Herb Quality and Sensory Integrity During Pathogen Inactivation. J. Food Science 82(5):1208-1215.
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization. 2016 (released in 2017). Interventions for the Control of Non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. In Beef and Pork. Microbiological Risk Assessment Series 30. FAO/WHO. Rome Italy.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Wolfer TL, Acevedo NC, Prusa KJ, Sebranek JG, Tart� R. 2017. Potential of rice bran wax and soybean oil oleogels as pork fat replacements in frankfurter-type sausages. In: Troy D, McDonnell C, Hinds L, Kerry J, editors. 63rd International Congress of Meat Science and Technology; 2017 Aug 1318; Cork, Ireland. Wageningen, Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers. p. 682683.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Carlson, K. B., K. J. Prusa, C. A. Fedler, E. M. Steadham, E. Huff-Lonergan, and S. M. Lonergan. 2017. Proteomic features linked to tenderness in aged pork loins. Journal of Animal Science 95:2533-2546 (doi: 10.2527/jas2016.1122).


Progress 12/16/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduate students, undergraduate students and industry personnel by short courses How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and presentations to the scientific community. Short courses and workshops to the industry. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? IMPACT: Our research showed that nitrate supplementation of processed meats had minimal sensory or quality effects on the products and would provide a potentially positive impact on human health by generating nitric oxide after consumption. Our research demonstrated how to increase the use and nutritional value of eggs by producing new products through separation and modifications of yolk and white components. New products can increase the sustainability of the U.S. egg industry. Our research on buffered dry vinegar showed it to be an effective inhibitor of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat uncured turkey; publication of this study alerted producers to an effective antimicrobial tool. Objective 1: Nothing to Report. Objective 2: Development of methods to predict fresh beef and pork quality. We worked on determiningbiochemical factors that influence fresh pork loin tenderness.Loins (n = 159) were collected one day postmortem from carcasses of Duroc-sired crossbred commercial pigs and aged for 9-11 days. Chops (2.54 cm) were collected and evaluated for purge, cook loss, pH post-aging, visual color and marbling, Hunter L, a, and b, sensory, and star probe (kg). Initial sample inclusion was determined by the highest and lowest star probe values. Total lipid was determined on these selected samples. Specified ranges (ultimate pH: 5.54 - 5.86; marbling score:1.0 - 3.0; and percent total lipid 1.61 - 3.37%) were defined for inclusion of individual loins in the study. Loins were classified into either a low star probe group or high star probe group. Characterization of these samples included sarcomere length, calpain autolysis, troponin-T degradation, desmin degradation, titin degradation, filamin degradation, and myosin heavy chain isotype. Calpain-1 was completely autolyzed in both high and low star probe samples, demonstrating calpain-1 potentially had been active in all samples. No differences were noted in the proportional abundance of myosin heavy chain. Sarcomere length in samples from the low star probe group were shorter than in samples from the high star probe group ( P<0.05). Low star probe whole muscle protein extracts exhibited more troponin-T (P < 0.01), desmin (P < 0.01), and filamin degradation (P < 0.01) than high star probe samples. Both classification groups showed degradation of titin in myofibrillar samples, but some high star probe samples also exhibited intact bands of titin. These results demonstrate extreme proteolytic differences influenced measured tenderness of low and high star probe samples. Objective 3: To investigate the formulation of cured processed meats with supplementary nitrate for physical, chemical and biological properties of the products, and for the potential of added nitrate to positively affect human health. Assessment of nitrate supplementation of processed meats (hams, bologna and frankfurters) has confirmed that nitrate remains inert and retained in processed meat products with minimal sensory or quality effects on the products, meaning the supplementary nitrate would provide a potentially positive impact on human health by generating nitric oxide after consumption. Objective 4: To study the performance of non-meat binders (iota-carrageenan, alginate, transglutaminase, collagen, soy isolate, whey proteins) in finely comminuted meat products with reduced salt content when subjected to different physical processing procedures for control of product yield and texture. A study that focused on this objective has been completed as part of an M.S. thesis project, the data have been analyzed and a thesis (with manuscript for journal submission) is currently being drafted. Current studies are evaluating the potential of solid vegetable oil gels as animal fat replacers in comminuted processed meat products. Results have been encouraging and data is currently being analyzed. Objective 5: Increase the use and value of egg yolk by diversifying the use and adding nutritional/functional value to egg yolk components. Development of an environment-friendly sequential separation method for IgY, phosvitin, neutral lipids, phospholipids, and proteins from egg yolk is under way. The main goal of this method is minimizing the use of potentially toxic chemicals or solvents, simplifying the separation process with scale-up capability, and separating multiple value-added egg yolk components in sequence. For the separation of IgY, phosvitin, and lipid-containing granules of egg yolk, egg yolk was separated from white and then diluted with 2 volumes of water and then centrifuged. The supernatant was used to separate IgY and neutral lipids/phospholipids, and the precipitant was used to separate phosvitin. To separate IgY and neutral lipids/phospholipids in the supernatant, further dilution and centrifugation was used. The separated IgY (supernatant) was further purified using ultrafiltration, salt/ammonium sulfate precipitation, desalting, and freeze-drying processes. The neutral lipids and phospholipids were separated from the solid neutral lipids/phospholipids-containing fraction using ethanol and hexane. Using the separated phosvitin, we are preparing bioactive phosphopeptides using various pre-treatment and enzyme hydrolysis combinations, and testing their physicochemical functionalities. The separated phospholipids are also further hydrolyzed using phospholipases and the characterization of the hydrolyzed phospholipids is under way. In addition to egg yolk, the sequential separation method of various value-added components from egg white was also developed. Some of the separated egg white proteins (ovotransferrin, ovomucin, ovomucoid) were further modified, and their functional and chemical characteristics were determined. Enzymatic modification of the separated egg white proteins significantly improved their antioxidant, anti-hypertensive and anticancer characteristics. Separating components will diversify the use of egg yolk, and producing bioactive peptides and bioactive lipids will increase the nutritional values of phosvitin and phospholipids. Objective 6: To determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of nonmeat ingredients and processing technologies that qualify for use with natural and organic products on the safety of natural and organic processed meats. Evaluation of buffered dry vinegar has shown this ingredient to be an effective inhibitor of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat uncured turkey, and these results have been published in the Journal of Food Protection. Objective 7: Assess the impact of process interventions on the level of microbiological contamination on fresh and processed meats. Our objective was to review and describe the change in prevalence and/or quantity of Salmonella associated with pathogen reduction treatments (washes, sprays, etc.) on pork carcasses or carcass parts with skin in comparative experimental designs (involving natural or artificialcontamination). A review was conducted consistent with the systematic review methodology. InJanuary 2015, CABI, Science Citation Index and CPCIS, Medline® and Medline® In-Process, Science.gov, and Proceedings of The International Symposium on Epidemiology and Control of Salmonella in Pork weresearched with no restrictions on language or publication type. Reference lists of 24 review articles were also checked. The following interventions were examined: citric acid + steam, steam + ultrasound, physiological saline, water + acetic acid, acidified sodium chlorite, electrolyzed oxidizing water, distilled water, water (at various temperatures), stannous chloride, hydrogen peroxide, trisodium phosphate, sodium hypochlorite, lactic acid, and acetic acid. Only 5 studies were conducted in a commercial abattoir; the remainder where challenge studies. For summarizing the data, we focused on interventions likely to be used in commercial settings, i.e. lactic acid, acetic acid, chlorine-based washes and water washes.

Publications

  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Cholesterol and its functions in human health. In Handbook of Cholesterol Biology, Function and Role in Health and Diseases. Watson, R. R. and De Meester, F. (Ed). Wageningen Academic Publishers. p399-412.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Min, B. R, and D. U. Ahn, (2015). Irradiation on physicochemical and functional properties of liquid egg white and yolk. In: Handbook of eggs in Human Function. R. R. Watson and F. D. Meester, (Ed). Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherland. P627-640.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Herath, I.A.H.M.E., Priyanath, J.J.M., Ahn, D. U., Abeyrathne, E.D.N.S. (2015). Use of lysozyme from chicken egg white as a nitrite replacer in an Italian-type chicken sausage. Functional Foods in Health and Diseases. 5(9): 319-329.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Abeyrathne, E.D.N.S., Lee, H. Y., Jo, C., Suh, J. W. and Ahn, D. U. (2016). Enzymatic hydrolysis of ovomucin and the functional and structural characteristics of peptides in the hydrolysates. Food Chem. 192:107-113.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Irandoust, H. and Ahn, D. U. (2015). Influence of soy oil source and dietary supplementation of vitamins E and C on the oxidation status of serum and egg yolk, and the lipid profile of egg yolk. Poultry Sci. 94:27632771.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Abeyrathne, E.D.N.S., Lee, H. Y., Jo, C., Suh, J. W. and Ahn, D. U. (2015). Enzymatic hydrolysis of ovomucoid and the functional properties of its hydrolysates. Poultry Science 94:22802287.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Moon, S.H., Lee, J.H., Lee, Y.J., Paik, J.Y., Ahn, D.U., and Paik, H.D. (2015). Antioxidant activity of autocleaved ovotransferrin against lipid oxidation. J. Sci. Food Agric. 95(10):2065-2070.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Badvela, M.K., J.S. Dickson, J.G. Sebranek and W. D. Schroeder. 2016. Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by Buffered Dry Vinegar in Reduced-Sodium Ready-to-Eat Uncured Turkey. J. Food Protect. (accepted 18 April 2016).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Totten, S.C., J. M. Glanville, R.S. Dzikamunhenga, J. S. Dickson and A.M. OConnor. 2016. Systematic review of the magnitude of change in prevalence and quantity of Salmonella after administration of pathogen reduction treatments on pork carcasses. Animal Health Research Reviews (accepted 19 April 2016).
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Villarreal-Silva, M.,D. P. Genho, I. Ilhak, L. M. Lucia, J. S. Dickson, K. B. Gehring, J. W. Savell, and A. Castillo. 2016. Tracing Surrogates for Enteric Pathogens Inoculated on Hide through the Beef Harvesting Process. J. Food Protect. 79(11):18601867.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Emily L. Usinger,E.L., E. M. Larson, S. E. Niebuhr, C. A. Fedler, K. J. Prusa, J.S. Dickson, R. Tart� and J.G. Sebranek. 2016. Can supplemental nitrate in cured meats be used as a means of increasing residual and dietary nitrate and subsequent potential for physiological nitric oxide without affecting product properties? Meat Sci. 121:324332.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Feng, X., J.G. Sebranek and D.U. Ahn. 2016. Effects of adding red wine on the physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics of uncured frankfurter-type sausage. Meat Sci. 121:285-291.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Myers, M.I., J.G. Sebranek, J.S. Dickson, A.M. Shaw, K.R. Adams and S. Neibuhr. 2016. Implications of decreased nitrite concentrations on Clostridium perfringens outgrowth during cooling of ready-to-eat meats. J. Food Protect. 79:153-156.