The aim of the current review was to shed light on the nutritional composition of meat from alternative species, including red deer, fallow deer, rabbit, horse, pigeon and ratites (mainly ostrich) by comparison with conventional meat, and their benefits for human health. One of the reasons for such interest was the occurrence, in Europe several years ago, of dioxin, Bovine Encephalopathy and foot-and-mouth disease problems in farm animals. Therefore, consumers began to look for alternative kinds of red meat from other non-traditional species. The nutritional composition of meat from alternative species by comparison with conventional meat is characterised by low levels of fat and cholesterol, relatively high concentrations of n-3 and iron. Therefore, the meat from alternative species may supplement the local meat market with good quality products.

This study evaluated the effect of dietary organic and inorganic selenium supplementation on chemical, mineral and fatty acid composition of ostrich meat. Forty ostriches were raised in two groups (OSe and IOSe, diets supplemented with an organic form and an inorganic form of selenium, respectively). The form of selenium had no influence on chemical composition of ostrich muscle. Although, there were no significant differences in total content of SFA, MUFA and PUFA, the content of LA and EPA was higher in the muscles of ostriches which were put on a diet supplemented with an organic form of selenium, what resulted in lower n-6/n-3 fatty acids ratio in OSe group (9.99) in comparison to IOSe group (11.70). The results of the study indicate that dietary organic selenium supplementation improves the quality of the ostrich meat as related to the health promoting properties (LA, EPA and selenium content) of meat.

Among the poultry species, goose meat is relatively hard and cohesive and characterised by the highest chewiness and gumminess. Therefore, it can be assumed that goose meat ageing can improve its quality^(1,2).The aim of the study was to determine the effect of ageing time of goose breast muscle on selected technological properties.The study material consisted musclus pectoralis of Polish White Kołuda oat geese, slaughtered at 15–17 weeks of age, weighing 6–7 kg. After slaughter, carcasses were cooled and breast muscles were cut out, vacuum packed and stored at 4°C ± 1°C. Analyses were performed 1, 7, 14, 21 days post mortem on eight breast muscles on each of the days (n = 8).The following parameters were determined: pH, muscle surface and cross-section colour, natural drip, free water, water absorption, thermal drip and shear force. A one-factor variance analysis method with Duncan's test (P ≤ 0.05) was used to evaluate the variation of mean values.It was demonstrated that muscle pH increases with an increase in the cool storage period. This parameter considerably increased from day 14 of ageing. Muscle colour changes were observed only on its surface between day 1 and 21. The ageing period had an effect on the meat hydration properties. Natural drip volume increased with an increase in the storage period and corresponded with the free water volume. A significantly greater volume of natural drip (1.77%) and a lower volume of free water (8.98%) were observed on day 21. Water absorption significantly increased on day 7 of ageing and remained constant until the end of the ageing time. A similar relationship was found while evaluating the shear force. A rapid drop in shear force was observed, which reflected an increase in meat tenderness by almost 5N between day 1 and 7 of the experiment. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the analysed raw material featured the most favourable technological properties on day 7 of ageing and that an extension of the ageing process was unjustified.

Meat semi-finished products that are portioned or not, meat with the addition of a different composition of spices and oil are a common element of the commercial offer in the convenient ready to cook food segment. During the refrigeration storage in this complex system of meat, oil and spices, there is a number of physicochemical changes, including hydrolytic and oxidative changes of the oil(1). The products of these reactions become integral components of the meat subjected to heat treatment. As a result of heating, secondary oxidation products of lipids may be formed which constitute a serious health risk(2). The study was aimed at determination of the effect of spices containing antioxidants and sulfur-organic compounds on hydrolytic and oxidative changes in the oil that formed the base of the marinade in which meat was kept. Pork neck was minced and formed into burgers (250 g), rapeseed oil (120 g) and spices (5 g) were used. Four research groups were analyzed meat / oil / spices system with rosemary, oregano, garlic or onion. Oil samples were collected on the third, fifth and eighth day of refrigerated storage. The control sample was the oil from the meat / oil system only. The quality of the oil was evaluated on the basis of the acid value, peroxide value and TBARS index. In the oil with onion, garlic, rosemary and oregano the hydrolytic changes on the 8th day of storage were significantly lower compared to the control. On the basis of the average peroxide value in oil marinades with the addition of rosemary and oregano, significantly lower values of this indicator were found when using rosemary (3.61 meq O2/kg) in comparison with oregano (6.01 meq O2/kg). The average of TBARS index in marinade with onions and garlic was lower by 31% and 48%, respectively. Also the use of rosemary and oregano was effective in blocking the formation of secondary oxidation products (rosemary even three times higher than that of oregano).