In this study, 192 female broilers (21 days old) were allocated to four dietary treatments: a control diet [CT], and three experimental diets containing 25 g/kg alfalfa meal [AM25], 50 g/kg alfalfa meal [AM50], and 75 g/kg alfalfa meal [AM75]. Final body weight and average daily feed intake of birds were significantly higher in alfalfa supplemented birds, with a linear response to alfalfa inclusion seen for average daily gain (P < 0.05). Serum triglycerides were comparatively lower in AM50 group than in CT group (P < 0.05). The total weight and gastrointestinal tract indices were higher in AM75 and AM50 and sequentially lower in AM25 and CT (P < 0.05). The AM75 and AM50 treatments resulted in significantly lower pH in the duodenum and caecum than in the CT (P < 0.05). The yield percentage of half-eviscerated AM75 chickens was significantly higher than that of CT (P < 0.05). However, breast muscle percentage was significantly lower in AM75 than in CT (P < 0.05). AM diets resulted in an increased yellowness of the muscles. It was concluded that AM improved the growth performance, development of the intestine, and meat yellowness, and reduced the pH of the intestine and serum triglycerides.

A 39-day field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of grape marc (GM) feeding on sheep productivity, health, and environmental sustainability. Forty merino sheep were divided into two dietary groups, each having five replications (n = 4 sheep/replication). Experimental diet consisted of: (i) control: 55% lucerne hay + 40% wheat grain + 5% faba bean; (ii) GM treatment: control diet with 20% replaced by GM on a dry matter (DM) basis. The GM treatment contained 2–10% higher phytochemical contents than the control. The DMI from the GM treatment was 15% higher than the control (p < 0.001). No difference was found in sheep live weight gain, behaviour, and quality between groups (p > 0.05). No difference was found in total faecal production, faecal organic matter, and nitrogen contents (p > 0.05) and parasitic egg count. The GM treatment led to higher nitrogen intake (23.1 vs. 27.2 g/d) and faecal nitrogen excretion (6.3 vs. 8.7 g/d) compared to the control. Urinary creatinine, allantoin, and purine derivatives were lower in the GM treatment than control (p < 0.05). However, both groups had similar purine derivatives/DMI (i.e., indicator of rumen microbial protein synthesis efficiency; p > 0.05). Overall, the results showed that GM can replace 20% of the control ration to maintain sheep productivity, health, and environmental sustainability.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of butchers and beef handlers in Bangladesh, and to examine factors associated with their food safety knowledge. Methods: A two-stage stratified random sample of 160 respondents was drawn from 16 districts between January 2023 and December 2024. Data were collected using a structured KAP questionnaire. Scores were categorized into low, medium, and high knowledge groups. Descriptive statistics, chi-square (χ²) tests, and a partial proportional odds model (PPOM) were applied. Results: Findings showed high awareness of the importance of hygiene and willingness to adopt training (> 90%), yet actual practices were poor. Only 8.8% of butchers performed post-mortem examinations, 2.5% had chilling facilities, and < 1% reported using modern processing technology. Knowledge of GAP, GMP, HACCP, relevant regulations, and withdrawal periods was limited. In the PPOM analysis, higher profit per kilogram of beef (OR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04–1.25; p = 0.004) and average practice level (OR = 3.26; 95% CI: 1.02–10.45; p = 0.047) were significantly associated with higher food safety knowledge. Demographic variables were not significant predictors. Conclusions: The results highlight substantial gaps between attitudes and actual practices in beef handling. Targeted training, infrastructure support, and regulatory enforcement are recommended to strengthen meat safety in Bangladesh.

This study investigated the comparative effects of conventional hot-air oven heating (CHO), microwave heating (MW) and sealing effect on the nutritive value of lucerne hay. Equivalent energy (125 J.g⁻¹) was applied with a 1.1 kW of MW oven for 60 seconds (s) or a 3.06 kW CHO oven for 350 s. The required equivalent energy level was measured based on a preliminary calibration trial. Two heating method (CHO and MW) and sealing condition (SC) applied as treatment factors in this study. A two-way analysis of variance (P < 0.05) was used to measure the effect of different factors on some properties of lucerne hay. The dry matter (DM) percentage of lucerne hay was increased when MW treatments were applied on both sealed and non-sealed lucerne hay compared with the control. Both heating method and their interaction with SC had negative effects on crude protein (CP) percentage. DM digestibility (DMD) and Digestible organic matter in the DM (DOMD) were decreased by 9% and 5%, respectively, in the sealed MW group, compared with the sealed control. Neutral detergent fibre % also increased by 6% in the sealed MW group, compared with the sealed control group. However, no differences in acid detergent fibre % due to any heating method and/or SC were observed in this study. The mechanisms behind these changes require further exploration.

Dielectric properties of any particular material will determine the level of microwave (MW) heating. Therefore, measurement of the dielectric properties of MW treatment subject materials is necessary. This study investigated the dielectric properties of six roughages and three concentrate animal feeds across the microwave frequency range of 1 × 10⁹ to 5 × 10⁹ Hz. Six treatment groups, named control (at equilibrium moisture constant), oven dried (0% moisture), 25% moisture added, 50% moisture added, 75% moisture added, and 100% moisture added groups were prepared for the study. Three separate replications and five observations for each replication were used to assess the dielectric properties of these materials. The results showed that for increasing moisture content, from oven-dried, though the control status, to 100% added moisture, both the dielectric constant (real part) and the dielectric loss factor (imaginary part) increased for both the roughages and concentrates. However, the responses were not linear. The oven-dried plant samples' dielectric properties were very low compared with those of the higher moisture content samples. Thus, the sample's moisture content was the dominant contributor to the feed samples' dielectric behavior. Among all the feed samples, faba bean and wheat grain showed the highest response to added moisture. Mathematical models were developed to explain the dielectric properties of feeds as a function of frequency and moisture content. The goodness of fit (r²) for these models' real part varied between 0.85–0.99 for roughage and 0.98–0.99 for concentrate feed type. On the other hand, the goodness of fit for the imaginary part varied between 0.59–0.78 for roughage, and 0.81–0.93 for concentrate feeds.