The influence of muscle type (biceps femoris, BF and semimembranosus, SM) on physicochemical parameters, volatile compounds, and the extent of proteolysis and lipolysis during the manufacturing of smoked dry-cured ham was investigated. A total of fifty smoked hams were sampled: raw ham, after salting, smoking, drying, and ripening. Almost all physicochemical parameters were affected by muscle type, manufacturing stage and their interactions. SM had lower water, ash, NaCl content, and water activity (a_w), while fat and protein content were higher after ripening compared to BF. BF showed higher L*a*b* values compared to SM. The results of texture profile analysis showed that almost all analyzed parameters were influenced by muscle type and production stage. A total of 88 volatile compounds were identified, showing an increase in its number during processing: 31 volatile compounds were identified in raw ham and 72 after the ripening phase. Aldehydes and phenols were the predominant groups of compounds, followed by alcohols, ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, esters, and terpenes. Muscle type and production phase significantly affected lipid oxidation and the index of proteolysis: in SM, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) increased faster than in BF, while proteolysis had an opposite effect and was more pronounced in BF.

Growing the Ross broiler parent according to the target growth curve ensures that males and females achieve optimum lifetime performance and well-bei

The specifics of meat production from free-ranging animals include the killing of animals in the wild with firearms. This type of uncontrolled killing sometimes leads to the phenomenon that the game does not die immediately but after a certain time from the shot to death, which may ultimately affect the quality of the meat. During one hunting year on free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus) (RD), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (RoD), and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (WB), the effect of time from shot to death on final pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), water content, and colour (L*, a*, b*) was investigated. All analyses were performed on Musculus biceps femoris (BF). After shooting, the animals were divided into two categories (A = time from shot to death ≤ 1 min; B = time from shot to death > 1 min). In RD, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) water content. In RoD, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) values of L* and b*. In WB, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) L* value and significantly higher (p < 0.05) pH value. The study proves that in BF of the three studied game species, the time extension from shot to death significantly affects the final water content values in RD, L* and b* in RoD and pH and L * in WB.