The consumption of animal by-products has continued to witness tremendous growth over the last decade. This is due to its potential to combat protein malnutrition and food insecurity in many countries. Shortly after slaughter, animal by-products are separated into edible or inedible parts. The edible part accounts for 55% of the production while the remaining part is regarded as inedible by-products (IEBPs). These IEBPs can be re-processed into sustainable products for agricultural and industrial uses. The efficient utilization of animal by-products can alleviate the prevailing cost and scarcity of feed materials, which have high competition between animals and humans. This will also aid in reducing environmental pollution in the society. In this regard, proper utilization of animal by-products such as rumen digesta can result in cheaper feed, reduction in competition and lower cost of production. Over the years, the utilization of animal by-products such as rumen digesta as feed in livestock feed has been successfully carried out without any adverse effect on the animals. However, there are emerging gaps that need to be further addressed regarding the food security and sustainability of the products. Therefore, the objective of this review highlights the efficacy and effectiveness of using animal by-products as alternative sources of feed ingredients, and the constraints associated with their production to boost livestock performance in the industry at large.

The global meat industry is characterised by a growing interest in natural preservative additives. This study determined the effect of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) essential oil (SBEO) on colour and lipid oxidation in minced beef. The phytoconstituents of SBEO were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Thereafter, minced beef samples from Nguni and Boran cattle were treated with either no additives (control, C) or SBEO added at 2% (SB2), 4% (SB4), or 6% (SB6). The meat samples were aerobically packaged and stored (4 ± 1°C) for seven days for measurement of lightness (L⁎), redness (a⁎), yellowness (b⁎), hue, chroma, and lipid oxidation (acid-reactive substances, TBARS) on days 0, 4, and 7. Thirty-two bioactive compounds with reported antioxidant and antimicrobial and activities were identified in SBEO, including Estragole (41.40%), 1, 6-Octadien-3-ol, 3,7-dimethyl (29.49%), and trans-.alpha.-Bergamotene (5.32%). On days 0, 4, and 7, SB2, SB4, and SB6 had higher (P < 0.05) L⁎, a⁎, b⁎, hue, and chroma values; and on days 0 and 4 TBARS were lower (P < 0.05) in SB2 and SB4 than C and SB6. The addition of 2% and 4% SBEO improved colour and lipid oxidative stability, demonstrating potential for its use as a natural antioxidant additive in meat.

Application of veterinary drugs in livestock production is inevitable as they are essential for treatment of diseases, prevention of diseases, modification of physiological functions, improvement of growth and productivity as well as for ensuring food safety. However, recent reports have revealed that the use of veterinary drugs in large amounts and consistently could result in deposition of antimicrobial residues in muscle and organs of animal. Consumption of these residues in animal products may pose health risk to consumers including development of antibiotic resistance bacteria, allergy, reproductive disorder and hypersensitivity reaction. It is in line with this that this chapter seeks to examine the cause, occurrence, mode of detection, health implication and possible solution to veterinary drugs residues in meat and meat products.

This study examined strain, sex and slaughter weight effect on performance, meat quality and yield of broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty-day-old chicks (broilers) were distributed randomly in a 3 × 2 × 4 factorial experiment, with 50 birds per strain (Ross, Aboaca and Anak) and 25 birds per sex. After trial, 32 birds per strain and 16 per sex were slaughtered at 4 different body weights (1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 2,500 g) to determine carcass yield and meat quality. The results revealed significant strain and sex effect (P < 0.05) on growth performance of the broiler chicken. Ross strain had the highest feed intake (4883.25 g) and final body weight (2440.25 g) compared to Aboaca and Anak strains. Female broiler having heavier body weight (2431.66 g) and feed intake (4864.83 g) than the males for all strains. Aboaca birds had the highest carcass yields for all slaughter weight than Anak and Ross. The slaughter weight, irrespective sex and strains significantly influenced the carcass yield (P < 0.001) with birds slaughtered at 2,500 g having (P < 0.001) highest values compared to other slaughtered weights. As slaughter weight increases, cooking loss and thermal shortening decreases while water holding capacity and shear force values increases. Overall, Aboaca strain was considered to have best performances for production.

This study examined the fatty acid and mineral compositions of raw and cooked beef and liver from Bonsmara (BD) and non-descript (ND) cattle, raised on natural pasture. Samples were collected from 80 cows and thermal-processed at 65°C for 120 minutes and 85°C for 60 minutes using sous-vide techniques, and then analysed for fatty acid and mineral compositions. The results did not show differences in individual fatty acid composition of meat samples between the breed (P>0.05). However, the raw beef sample had higher content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA , 40.22% ± 3.79 ND, 42.53% ± 2.39 BD) and lower content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA , 11.02% ± 5.47 ND, 10.13% ± 6.73 BD) than liver (MUFA , 20.11% ± 4.76 ND, 21.08% ± 2.46 BD; PUFA , 30.73% ± 5.20 ND, 31.11% ± 2.37 BD) (P0.05). The results further revealed higher contents of Na, Mg, and Zn in raw beef than liver. However, the content of Na, Mg, and Zn in the beef and liver were not significantly (P>0.05) affected after cooking. Based on the PUFA proportion of the total lipids in beef (11.02%) and liver (31.11%) and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio in beef (2.54) and liver (1.34), consumption of liver and beef from cattle raised on pasture could be beneficial to human health. Additionally, application of sous-vide technique can be used to minimize the nutritional losses in beef and liver.

This study was conducted to determine the consumers’ perceptions and factors influencing offal meat consumption in Amathole District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A total of 202 consumers from Amathole District were randomly sampled from three municipalities. The study revealed that consumers were more influenced by the freshness, price, and availability of the product and these factors determine the point of purchase. The most preferred purchase-point for offal meat in this study was butchery. However, sheep offal was more preferred to cattle offal. The point of purchase, however, remains a prominent factor among other factors that could influence decision making for any consumer. When it comes to offal meat, the results showed that the majority of consumers purchased more liver, intestine, and tripe, which is because they are often sold in a combo at the butchery. Furthermore, it was revealed that consumers have nutritional knowledge of the offal meat products before making their purchase but health reasons emerged as a factor that the consumers considered the least at the point of purchase.