This study investigated the dynamic evolution of physicochemical properties and lipid composition in dry-cured ham throughout the processing stages. Samples collected at different stages were analyzed for moisture content, water activity, and peroxide value, and fatty acid profiles were determined using gas chromatography (GC). Moisture content declined progressively as the processing advanced, and water activity decreased at various processing stages. Substantial remodeling of lipid composition occurred during the salting, air-drying, and pre-ripening stages, resulting in an overall increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and a corresponding reduction in saturated fatty acids in the later stages of ripening. The proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids decreased during salting but increased during air-drying, whereas the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids further rose during the pre-ripening process. Notably, in the biceps femoris (BF) muscle of pre-ripened ham, the contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids, including arachidonic acid (C_20:4n-6), eicosapentaenoic acid (C_20:5n-3), and docosatrienoic acid (C_20:3n-3), significantly increased. In the semimembranosus (SM) muscle of ripened ham, the relative contents of n-3 fatty acids, including docosatrienoic acid (C_20:3n-3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (C_20:5n-3), were significantly higher than those in raw meat. These findings identify the salting, air-drying, and pre-ripening stages as critical control points for lipid transformation and quality formation.

In recent years, with people’s increasing attention to sustainable development factors such as resources and environment, plant-based meat has been developed rapidly. Plant-based meat not only has the advantages of high protein content, no cholesterol, and no antibiotics, but also is favored by consumers for its low saturated fat content, rich dietary fiber, and environmental friendliness. However, as plant-based meat grows rapidly, its nutritional characteristics and safety have drawn increasing attention. In modern processing technologies for plant-based meat, such as extrusion, high temperature and pressure conditions affect protein digestibility and absorbability, and may also generate potential risk factors, such as acrylamide and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. In order to ensure the healthy development of the plant-based meat industry, it is important to understand the nutritional characteristics of plant-based meat and possible risk factors. In this article, we review recent studies on the nutritional changes and safety of plant-based meat during processing. We analyze the factors affecting the protein digestibility of plant-based meat and summarize its safety risks during processing, with a view to providing strong support for optimizing the processing conditions of plant-based meat.

As consumers become increasingly concerned about dietary health, the health attributes of synthetic antioxidants and antibacterial agents used in the food industry are increasingly questioned, but natural active ingredients are increasingly preferred by producers and consumers due to their compliance with “clean labelling” requirements. The types and sources of natural antioxidant and antibacterial ingredients from plants commonly used in meat processing are reviewed in this paper. The mechanisms of their antioxidant and antibacterial effects in the processing and storage of meat products are also described. Furthermore, their forms and optimal concentrations for application in meat products are summarized. We expect that this review will provide a theoretical reference for the application of natural active ingredients from plants in the preservation of meat products.

The present study was carried out to compare the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity, Fe²⁺ chelating capacity and total antioxidant capacity of crude peptides extracted from western-style fermented ham with phosphate buffer solution and hydrochloric acid solution. Besides, their amino acid compositions were analyzed. The results showed that the mass and purity of phosphate buffer extractable peptides were significantly higher than those extracted with hydrochloric acid. The radical scavenging ability of both samples increased with increasing their concentration from 1 to 5 mg/mL. At a concentration of 5 mg/mL, phosphate buffer extractable and hydrochloric acid extractable peptides scavenged DPPH radical by 26.59% and 30.99%, and hydroxyl radical by 84.07% and 27.49% respectively. The Fe^{2 +} chelating capacity of phosphate buffer extractable peptides was 81.20%, which was significantly higher than that of hydrochloric acid extractable peptides. Their total antioxidant capacity was 68.74% and 46.11% at 5 mg/mL, respectively. For the two samples, the essential amino acids accounted for 44.246% and 41.746% of total amino acids, respectively, and the total amount of basic, acidic and hydrophobic amino acids related to antioxidant activity was 87.560% and 87.618%, respectively. In conclusion, both crude peptides have antioxidant capacity and a certain nutritional value, and phosphate extractable peptides have stronger antioxidant activity and better amino acid composition.

In order to study the oxidative stability of mutton oxymyoglobin (OxyMb), OxyMb was prepared from mutton myoglobin (Mb). The effects of NaCl, pH value, temperature and plant extracts on the stability of OxyMb were investigated under conditions simulating auto-oxidation of OxyMb. Results showed that the relative content of OxyMb increased at first and then decreased with increasing NaCl concentration, reaching the highest value of 67.07% at 1.5 g/100 mL. The stability of OxyMb in alkaline environment was higher than that in acidic environment. OxyMb could remain relatively stable in the temperature range of 4–30 ℃. The relative content of OxyMb decreased significantly when the temperature were higher than 35 ℃, while the relative content of metmyoglobin increased. Magnolia extract and bamboo leaf extract could improve the stability of mutton OxyMb.

In order to reduce the sodium content of dry-cured pork coppa, partial replacement of other chloride salts was applied. The effect of different replacement schemes on the regulation of endogenous enzymes and texture quality of dry-cured pork coppa was investigated by evaluating the physicochemical properties, protein degradation, free amino acids composition, endogenous protease activity, and texture characteristics during the manufacturing process. The results showed that arginine aminopeptidase activity, leucine aminopeptidase activity, proteolysis, and springiness increased in the 75% NaCl + 15% KCl + 5% CaCl₂ + 5% MgCl₂ group as compared to the control group (100% (m/m) NaCl). The water activity decreased, and proteolysis, taste amino acid content, leucine aminopeptidase activity, dipeptidyl peptidase Ⅰ, and dipeptidyl peptidase Ⅳ activities increased in the 75% NaCl + 15% KCl + 5% CaCl₂ + 5% ZnCl₂ group relative to the control group. The 75% NaCl + 15% KCl + 5% MgCl₂ + 5% ZnCl₂ group showed enhanced proteolysis, augmented activities of alanine aminopeptidase, arginine aminopeptidase, leucine aminopeptidase, and dipeptidyl peptidase Ⅰ, and reduced product hardness. The above results indicated that partial replacement of NaCl with the selected combinations of KCl, CaCl₂, MgCl₂, and ZnCl₂ reduces the sodium content of dry-cured pork coppa while guaranteeing product quality.

One typical way of meat adulteration is by adding low-priced meat ingredients into high-priced meat products. In this study, a duplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) method was developed to accurately identify bovinederived ingredients in meat products. By analyzing the single-copy β-actin gene sequences of 14 animal species, bovinespecific primers and probes as well as universal primers and probes for animal-derived ingredients were designed to develop a duplex ddPCR system. The formula to calculate the relationship between the mass of bovine-derived ingredients (M, mg) and the number of copies of specifically amplified genes (C, copies/μL) was established as follows: M = 0.033C + 2.37. The results of this method for mixed meat samples containing a known amount of beef and different beef cuts basically agreed with the actual values. Moreover, the relative copy number was helpful to judge whether beef products could be adulterated with non-bovine-derived ingredients. The developed method was successfully applied to detect the adulteration of commercial beef products. We believe that this method will provide technical support for the quantitative detection of adulterated beef products and grading and identification of meat mixtures from different animal specices.

As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreement and related policies have promoted the rapid development of trade, the ASEAN has given full play to its regional advantages in the field of edible agricultural products, and has become China’s largest trade partner. The increasing technical barriers to food trade in the ASEAN region show that there are great differences in its member countries’ standards and supervisory measures for their advantageous industries and products. At present, the ASEAN has initially established a food coordination and mutual recognition standard system, including food safety policies, coordination standards and technical specifications, in order to establish a unified regulatory framework of food safety standards and expand the influence of regional trade. Understanding the implementation of trade barrier measures and the current status of food safety standard coordination and supervision in the ASEAN is conducive to maintaining public safety, reducing trade costs, dealing with possible trade barriers, and further strengthening integrated cooperation between China and ASEAN in key areas such as standards and technical regulations.

The dynamic changes of volatile compounds in beef high rib during the dry-aging process were investigated by using electronic nose (E-nose) and gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS). Samples with different aging periods could be clearly distinguished by E-nose. As the aging proceeded, the content of volatile compounds increased significantly. At the 28^th day, the content of volatile compounds was 3.21 times as high as that of unaged beef. Cluster analysis was used to investigate the similarity of changes in volatile compounds, suggesting that the aging process could be separated into three stages. The first stage was from days 0 to 7; the second stage was from days 7 to 21; the third stage was from days 21 to 28. The analysis of relative odor activity value (ROAV) and aroma characteristics demonstrated that during the whole aging process, the key aroma compounds were isopentanol and ethyl hexanoate, with wine-like, malty and fruity flavors. Meanwhile, the key volatile compounds of beef samples varied from period to period. At the 28^th day, decanal and dodecanal were identified as key aroma compounds, resulting in a change in the overall flavor of beef from fruity to fatty.

Artificial meat falls into two categories: vegetarian meat and cultured meat. High production costs and unknown food safety supervision risks are major obstacles restricting the marketing of cultured meat. In contrast, as a traditional artificial meat with huge market potential, vegetarian meat is becoming a hotspot in the global food industry. New vegetarian meat products such as plant-based burger and vegetarian nuggets have been put on the market. However, food safety regulations and standard systems for vegetarian meat have not been well established, which brings challenges to compliance supervision and the healthy development of the industry. This article systematically reviews the current regulations and standards for vegetarian meat in some international organizations, developed countries and regions such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as China. Meanwhile, we compare the characteristics of vegetarian meat in terms of product nomenclature and classification, the use of the animal-derived ingredients, quality indicators, the use of food additives and nutrition supplements, microbial limits, and labelling and claims between China and foreign countries. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for improving the vegetarian meat regulations and standard system in China.