This review describes the effects of processing and preservation technologies on sensory and nutritional quality of meat products. Physical methods such as dry aging, dry curing, high pressure processing (HPP), conventional cooking, sous-vide cooking and 3D printing are discussed. Chemical and biochemical methods as fermentation, smoking, curing, marination, and reformulation are also reviewed. Their technical limitations, due to loss of sensory quality when nutritional value of these products is improved, are presented and discussed. There are several studies focused either on the nutritional or sensorial quality of the processed meat products, but more studies with an integration of the two aspects are necessary. Combination of different processing and preservation methods leads to better results of sensory quality; thus, further research in combinations of different techniques are necessary, such that the nutritional value of meat is not compromised.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of sensory attributes, by the use of just-about-right (JAR) scales and penalty analysis, of new healthy whole-wheat muffins with high fibre content due to the addition of two products obtained from white and red grape pomace. Furthermore, the nutritional, colour and texture properties of the muffins were evaluated. For that, five formulations of whole-wheat muffins were studied: a control muffin made with 100% whole-wheat flour and muffins made with 10 and 20% of white and red grape pomace product, respectively. The incorporation of grape pomace products in the recipe led to muffins with "high-fibre content", which would imply healthy properties in these muffins. The hardness and chewiness increased whereas the springiness, cohesiveness, resilience and colour parameters decreased when the grape pomace products were incorporated. The sensory analysis indicated high levels of acceptability of the muffins that incorporated white and red grape pomace products at concentrations of 10%. The penalty analysis showed that none of the attributes evaluated affected the acceptability of the new muffins significantly; only the darker colour of the muffins caused by the red grape pomace product could affect the acceptability, although this fact was not clearly demonstrated.

Cultivated mushrooms are well-known nutrient inputs for an equilibrated diet. Some species are broadly appreciated due to their medicinal properties. Lately, a number of novel foods and nutraceuticals based on dehydrated and freeze-dried powder obtained from cultivated mushrooms has been reaching the market. The food industry requires fast and reliable tools to prevent fraud. In this, work we have cultivated Agaricus bisporus sp. bisporus (AB) (white button mushroom), Agaricus bisporus sp. brunnescens (ABP) (portobello), Lentinula edodes (LE) (shiitake) and Grifola frondosa (GF) (maitake) using tailor-made substrates for the different species and standardized cropping conditions, which were individually freeze-dried to obtain the samples under evaluation. The aim of this article was to validate the use of two different methodologies, namely, electronic nose and sensory panel, to discriminate the olfactory profile of nutritional products based on freeze-dried mushrooms from the different cultivated species. Additionally, GC-MS was used to detect and quantify the most abundant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the samples. The multivariate analysis performed proved the utility of electronic nose as an analytical tool, which was similar to the classical sensory panel but faster in distinguishing among the different species, with one limitation it being unable to differentiate between the same species. GC-MS analysis showed the chemical volatile formulation of the samples, also showing significant differences between different samples but high similarities between varieties of the same cultivated species. The techniques employed can be used to prevent fraud and have the potential to evaluate further medicinal mushroom species and build solid and trustful connections between these novel food products and potential consumers.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of an olive extract (OE) on the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics, lipid oxidation and volatile compounds of beef patties stored both aerobically and under modified atmosphere packaging for 15 days at 4 °C. The antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of the OE were compared to those of sulfite. Four formulations were elaborated according to the antioxidant and dose used: without antioxidant, C; 300 mg potassium metabisulfite/kg product, S; 150 mg OE/kg product, OE1; and 250 mg of OE/kg product, OE2. The parameters analyzed were pH, water activity, color, lipid oxidation (TBARS and volatile organic compounds: hexanal, 2-pentyl-furan, 1-pentanol, 2,3-octanedione and nonanal, 1-octen-2-ol) and total viable counts. The OE delayed the loss of the bright red color of the patties and reduced the lipid oxidation in both types of packaging compared to the control patty. Sulfite was the most effective antioxidant for inhibition of the total viable counts. An OE could be used as a natural antioxidant to delay the lipid oxidation of meat without negatively affecting its physicochemical properties.

Melanoidins isolated from bakery by-products are proposed as new sustainable ingredients for bakery products.

The aim of this research was to estimate the fatty acid (FA) content of intramuscular fat from beef by Fourier transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectroscopy. Four diets were supplemented in 10% linseed (LS) and/or 2% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): CON (without L or CLA), LS, CLA, and LS+CLA. For each diet, 12 young Holstein bulls were allocated. The spectral response of the beef samples was analyzed applying FT-MIR spectroscopy (from 400 to 4000 cm⁻¹) and predictive models were developed using partial least square regression with cross-validation. The obtained coefficients (R²) for some FA, such as α-linolenic acid with a R² = 0.96 or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) with R² = 0.93, demonstrate that FT-MIR spectroscopy is a valid technique to estimate the content of FA. In addition, samples were correctly classified according to the animal diet using discriminant analysis in the region 3000–1000 cm⁻¹. The obtained results suggest that the FT-MIR spectroscopy could be a viable technique for routine use in quality control because it provides fast and sustainable analysis of FA content. Furthermore, this technique allows the rapid estimation of the FA composition, specifically n-3 PUFA and CLA, of nutritional interest in meat. It also allows the classification of meat samples by the animal diet.