In Caraș-Severin County, Romania, the integration of sustainable agricultural practices with organic dairy production represents a unique opportunity to promote agro-tourism farms and guesthouses. This study examines the synergy between the chemical composition of pastures from three farms in different alleys and the impact on the chemical composition of dairy products produced on those farms. Thus, the comparative analysis of two types of traditional cow’s cheeses (soft and mature) from three different areas of Caraș-Severin County was pursued, as well as of the feed given to the animals from which the raw material for obtaining the cheeses originated. Initially, the physicochemical profile of the pastures (fresh grass and grass hay) was analyzed in terms of proximate composition (moisture, lipids, proteins, ash and carbohydrates), and the content of bioactive compounds (total polyphenols, antioxidant activity using the DPPH method). The proximate composition of the cheese samples, including moisture, lipids, proteins, ash and carbohydrates was analysed, and the content of fatty acids. A correlation was also made between the content of bioactive compounds in feed samples and fatty acid profile of the cheese samples. Our findings demonstrate that the geographical area and the chemical composition of the pasture have a considerable influence on the physicochemical characterization and fatty acid composition of the cheese. The cheese from the mountain area had a higher fat, protein and polyunsaturated fatty acid content compared to the samples from the hill and plain areas.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of altitudinal grassland systems on forage antioxidant properties and the nutritional composition of beef produced in Caraș-Severin County, Romania. We hypothesised that cattle raised at higher altitudes would produce beef with a superior nutritional profile, characterised by a more favourable lipid composition and enhanced antioxidant-related characteristics. Samples of fresh grass and hay were gathered from three representative areas: plain (Sacu, 154 m), hill (Văliug, 550 m), and mountain (Cozia, 1130 m). The beef samples were represented by two categories of commercially important muscles: Longissimus thoracis (loin) and Semimembranosus (topside), sourced from animals raised in each location. The proximate composition of forage samples indicated substantially higher levels of fatty acids, protein, and ash in mountain grasslands compared to lowland regions (p < 0.05). The total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity (DPPH test) revealed a similar pattern, with the strongest antioxidant activity (lowest IC₅₀ value) recorded for Cozia hay (GHC) samples. The composition of beef was additionally influenced by the production area. Samples derived from mountainous regions exhibited elevated protein concentrations, moderate intramuscular fat levels, and enhanced mineral composition in comparison to samples from plain areas. Fatty acid analysis revealed that mountain-sourced beef had significantly reduced levels of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and elevated concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including the nutritionally beneficial n-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Principal component analysis distinctly classified beef samples based on production method, with mountain-origin samples indicating better lipid properties and enhanced antioxidant-related variables. The findings demonstrate that natural grasslands at higher altitudes may enhance both the bioactive quality of fodder and the nutritional value of beef. Mountain pasture systems are a sustainable approach for producing high-quality beef with enhanced lipid composition and increased market value.

Pathogenic Leptospira spp. causes leptospirosis in animals and humans globally, leading to systemic infections that can impact vital organs in affected animals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate kidney injury and to perform a retrospective analysis of leptospirosis infection in follow-up dog samples. The retrospective study collected epidemiological information obtained through paraclinical exams, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and molecular biology (qPCR) of cases from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine from Timisoara between September 2016 and May 2023. No correlations were found between Leptospira infection and breed (p = 0.714), gender or castration status (p = 0.890), and anatomic pathology exam results (p = 0.608). Significant associations were found in cases with high levels of azotemia (p = 0.000) and immunological status (vaccinated vs. unvaccinated, p = 0.000), with the leptospirosis risk in unvaccinated animals calculated at OR = 85.500 (95%CI, 6.82–1071.26, p = 0.000). Retrospectively, leptospirosis was diagnosed in 27/65 cases (42%) using the IHC method, while the qPCR assay detected 29/65 cases (45%). This study demonstrates that qPCR is a robust and specific method for postmortem diagnosis of Leptospira spp. infection in dogs, offering higher specificity and reliability compared to traditional IHC methods, which showed 94.74% specificity in our study.

Agritourism farm-stay guesthouses represent a burgeoning sector of rural tourism, wherein locally produced food serves as the primary experiential attraction. This study examines tourist perceptions regarding food quality, sensory characteristics, sustainability awareness, loyalty indicators, and comparative evaluations at three farm-stay guesthouses in Caraș-Severin County, Romania, located at distinct altitudes: lowland (Sacu, 154 m a.s.l.), hill (Văliug, 550 m a.s.l.), and mountain (Cozia, 1130 m a.s.l.). Altitude in this study marks three distinct settings—lowland, hill, mountain—rather than functioning as a tested independent variable. The results show that tourists evaluated all three guesthouses similarly, with no statistically significant differences across zones. The comparative design was a way of asking whether own-farm food quality perceptions hold across different agritourism contexts, not a test of what altitude does to those perceptions. A structured questionnaire (n = 650) was distributed to guests following an informed consent protocol. Four latent constructs were operationalised: food quality (FQ; Cronbach’s α = 0.593), sensory characteristics (SCs; α = 0.596), sustainability perception (SP; α = 0.393), and comparison with non-farm establishments (CF; α = 0.621). Overall gastronomic satisfaction was particularly high (mean = 4.71 ± 0.62 on a 1–5 Likert scale), and the average overall score was 9.44 ± 1.01 out of 10. Multiple regression accounted for 7.5% of the satisfaction variance (R² = 0.075; F(4,643) = 13.09, p < 0.001), with sensory characteristics (β = 0.232, p < 0.001) and sustainability perception (β = 0.088, p = 0.020) serving as significant predictors. Food origin transparency substantially impacted satisfaction (ANOVA: F(3,646) = 4.964, p = 0.002): visitors who received thorough provenance explanations were more satisfied (mean = 4.77) than those who received no information (mean = 4.57). Among the 569 respondents with prior non-farm experience, 85.2% rated farm-stay cuisine as superior to non-farm alternatives overall. Food quality perceptions in these three Caraș-Severin guesthouses are uniformly high regardless of altitude. What separates more satisfied guests from less satisfied ones is not the measurable quality of the product but whether the host explained where it came from.