Known curing impacts on goat meat (chevon) is limited due to the low production and consumption of chevon products in the United States. This study, therefore, assessed sodium nitrite influences on the quality parameters of restructured chevon jerky and its stability. Inclusion of NaNO₂ increased (p < 0.01) the redness of chevon jerky (14.2 versus 8.17); however, the redness was decreased (p < 0.01) over a 30 d storage period. The texture properties and microbial counts of jerky were not influenced by NaNO₂. However, the total microbial counts increased (1.84 to 6.00 ± 0.468 log CFU/g; p < 0.01) with storage time in chevon jerky whether or not nitrite was included. Inclusion of NaNO₂ decreased (p < 0.05) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values (4.26 versus 4.81 mg MDA/kg), which did not change during storage. Among 28 isolated fatty acids from chevon jerky, palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1n9), and linoleic (C18:2n6) acids were the major four fatty acids. Of the 21 positively identified volatile compounds, six terpenes (α-pinene, β-pinene, β-phellandrene, carene, limonene, and cubebene), octanone and nonanal were the most abundant compounds. Neither processing treatment nor storage time significantly influenced the concentration of individual fatty acids and volatile compounds. Cured jerky had higher (p < 0.05) sensory color and flavor scores compared to uncured jerky. Results indicated that inclusion of NaNO₂ might improve color and sensory properties, as well as control the lipid oxidation of chevon jerky. However, the reduction of lipid oxidation in jerky was not revealed in product fatty acid or volatile flavor compounds.

Feeding condensed tannin (CT)-containing diets such as sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) and reducing stress have been reported to improve meat quality and food safety in goats. In a completely randomized design with split-plot, thirty-six uncastrated male Spanish goats were assigned to 3 dietary treatments (n = 12/treatment): ground ‘Serala’ sericea lespedeza hay (SER), bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) hay (BG), or bermudagrass hay—dewormed goats (BG-DW; Control) at 75% of intake, with a corn-based supplementation (25%) for 8 weeks. Prior to slaughter, goats were either transported for 90 min to impose stress or held in pens. Basophil counts were lower (p < 0.01) in the SER group compared to BG or BG-DW groups suggesting a better anti-inflammatory capacity due to polyphenols in the SER diet. Compared to BG-DW group, cortisol level was higher (p < 0.05) and norepinephrine was lower (p < 0.05) in the SER group. The SER group had the lowest aerobic plate counts (APC) in both rumen and rectum (p < 0.01). Longissimus dorsi muscle initial pH was not affected by diet or stress. Feeding sericea hay to goats may have beneficial effects, such as enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties during stress and reduced gut microbial counts, without changing meat quality characteristics.

This research assessed the potential of increasing PUFA concentrations and the effect on flavor volatiles in red meat by feeding ground, full-fat soybean supplemented in casein complex. Supplements consisted of untreated ground, full-fat soybean (CO) or ground, full-fat soybeans treated with acetaldehyde (AC) or diacetyl (DA) to form gels. On a DM basis, the control (CO), AC, and DA supplements contained 48.6, 50.0, and 49.1% CP and 17.3, 17.3, and 17.4% fat, respectively. Weaned feeder lambs (n = 18) were divided into three treatment groups with two pens of three lambs per group. One of three supplements (200 g of DM) plus 1 kg DM of a ground corn basal diet and 0.36 kg DM of grass hay was fed daily to each of six lambs in a group for 9 wk. Samples of the intramuscular (LM), intermuscular, subcutaneous, and kidney fat were obtained from each lamb carcass for determination of total lipid contents and fatty acid profiles. Flavor volatiles of broiled LM were also analyzed. Total fat content of the LM was 3.7, 4.6, and 2.6% for lambs consuming diets supplemented with CO, AC, and DA, respectively. Compared with lambs fed the untreated supplement (CO), lambs supplemented with AC or DA had 1) higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of linoleic (4.80 vs. 6.37 or 6.80%) and linolenic (0.28 vs. 0.43 or 0.45%) acids in the LM nonpolar lipids; 2) a higher (P < 0.05) concentration of linoleic acid (22.1 vs. 27.1 or 25.6%), but a lower (P < 0.05) concentration of oleic acid (17.2 vs. 13.0 or 13.1%), in the LM polar lipids; 3) a higher (P < 0.05) concentration of linoleic acid (3.77 vs. 6.13 or 6.06%) in subcutaneous fat; and 4) higher (P < 0.05) concentrations of linoleic (4.46 vs. 7.65 or 7.13%), linolenic (0.50 vs. 0.85 or 0.80%), and stearic (24.9 vs. 27.2 or 26.9%) acids, but a lower (P < 0.05) concentration of oleic acid (39.1 vs. 35.4 or 36.3%), in kidney fat. In broiled LM chops, 21 volatiles were identified, including seven alkanals, seven 2-alkenals, two 2,4-alkadienals, and five other compounds, but most differences in the volatile concentrations among lambs fed the different supplements did not correspond to concentration differences in their precursor fatty acids. Results indicated that compared with the untreated supplement (CO), AC and DA supplements protected linoleic (C18:2n6) and linolenic (C18:3n3) acids in soybean oil from degradation in the rumen of the lambs, resulting in increased deposition in the muscle and adipose tissues of lamb.

Potato chips fried in mid-oleic sunflower oil were stored in closed containers at ambient temperature (∼22°C) either in dark or under fluorescent light for 6 weeks. Lightness and yellowness of chips decreased with storage time. Peroxide values were influenced by storage conditions and time. Sixteen flavor volatiles were positively identified and concentrations of hexanal and 2-furaldehyde increased with storage time. However, t,t,-2,4-decadienal was not affected by storage time. The results indicated that potato chips fried in mid-oleic sunflower oil might retain the desirable fried flavor during 6 weeks of storage in a sealed container in the dark.