Meat aging is a process consisting of its storage in specific conditions which leads to an increase in its organoleptic qualities. The most common method of meat aging is the wet vacuum-bag based method, whereas the traditional method, called dry-aging, involves keeping meat at a low temperature for an extended time. However, this process is characterized by low repeatability of the results. Therefore, different approaches to stabilize the process are tested. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of the Mucor flavus biostarter on the physicochemical characteristics and sensory quality of dry-aged beef (DAB). We hypothesized that a fungal biostarter positively influences the quality of DAB and stabilizes the dry-aging process. Meat control samples (N = 7) and samples inoculated with the Mucor flavus biostarter (N = 7), originating from 14 individuals crossbred from Holstein-Friesian cows with bulls of meat breeds, were put into the dry-aging fridge (DryAger, Bad Saulgau, Germany) for 28 days. The physicochemical parameters (pH, color parameters, WHC, GP (glycolytic potential), chemical composition of muscle, the content of malondialdehyde, shear force), muscular protein proteolysis (SDS-PAGE), sensory quality, and microbial composition of DAB were assessed after aging. The results showed a significant effect of the fungal biostarter on pH increase (0.25 units), and light myosin chain proteolysis (approximately 16%) as well as improvement of sensory quality (e.g., acceptability was improved by one unit in an applied scale 1–9). All together, the M. flavus-based biostarter was shown to increase the quality of DAB.

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the possibility of application of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in order to estimate pork quality. The BIA measurements were tested on 18 living animals for the prediction of the meat quality. The absolute resultant electrical resistance (Rz) and reactance (Xc) of the body was measured with a set of disposable surface electrodes at the frequency of 50 kHz and the current intensity of 400 µA. The characteristics of meat quality, pH measured 1 h and 24 h after slaughter, meat color parameters represented in CIE L*a*b* system, glycolytic potential, intramuscular fat, and natural drip loss, were assessed on the samples of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. The slaughter value of pigs was characterized on the basis of hot carcass weight (HCW) and percent of meat in carcass. The results showed a significant Pearson correlation between bioelectrical impedance parameter Rz and pH₁ (r = 0.48*, p < 0.05). A significant Spearman correlation was showed between color b* value and the Rz/Xc/HCW ratio (r = −0.62*, p < 0.05) and Xc (r = −0.51*, p < 0.05), as well as between the Rz/Xc ratio with pH₁ (r = 0.48*, p < 0.05). The multivariate statistical method (principal component analysis and cluster analysis) showed that bioimpedance measurements combined with meat quality traits make it possible to distinguish groups with different quality parameters. However, the relationships between them are complex and still require analysis.

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