This study monitored the evolution of bacterial diversity, physicochemical properties, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in vacuum-packaged low-temperature emulsified sausages during 20 days of storage at 4 ℃. The results demonstrated that the physicochemical properties progressively deteriorated during the storage period, manifested by a decrease in pH, a* value, L* value, springiness, toughness, and hardness and an increase in b* value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value (P < 0.05). During days 0-15 of storage, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Brochothrix thermosphacta predominated in vacuum-packaged sausages, whereas on day 20 Rahnella aquatilis and Carnobacterium divergens absolutely predominated. A total of 55 VOCs were identified during storage, with the contents of ketones, aldehydes, alcohols and acids showing an overall increasing trend. Correlation analysis between bacterial succession and VOCs revealed that B. thermosphacta, A. calcoaceticus, R. aquatilis, and C. divergens were all significantly positively correlated with over five spoilage-related VOCs (e.g., 2,3-butanediol, 1-octen-3-ol, ethanol, benzaldehyde, and acetic acid)(|r| ≥ 0.80, P < 0.05), and were predicted to be specific spoilage organisms (SSOs) in the sausages stored at 4 ℃. This study provides a theoretical basis for the effective control of SSOs in low-temperature emulsified sausages during storage.

With the increase in the proportion of people with obesity, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases and/or cerebrovascular diseases, more and more people are paying attention to reducing the fat content in their diet. Generally, livestock and poultry meat has high fat levels, and the above diseases are strongly associated with excessive fat intake. Therefore, research on low-fat livestock and poultry and fat substitutes has become a hot topic in the food industry. In the present paper, the methods for breeding low-fat livestock and poultry and the classification of fat substitutes are reviewed with emphasis on the current status of research of new fat substitutes. Additionally, the approaches for developing low-fat livestock and poultry and fat substitutes are systematically summarized. We anticipate that this review will provide an important theoretical basis and new ideas for the development of low-fat livestock and poultry and fat substitutes.

As a starter culture for fermented meat products, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have proven to exhibit a remarkable antioxidant activity. However, during the fermentation process, LAB are susceptible to environmental stress factors, inducing the production and accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and in turn affecting the antioxidant activity of LAB and largely limiting their antioxidant activity in fermented meat products. This review is aimed to discuss the environmental stress factors for LAB, evaluate the response and defense mechanism of LAB to oxidative stress and their antioxidant mechanism, and describe the strategies for improving the resistance of LAB to oxidative stress. The antioxidant effect of LAB in fermented meat products is also discussed.

Meat and meat products, which are rich in nutrients, are very susceptible to microbial spoilage. Modified atmosphere packaging and bioprotective bacteria as physical and biological preservation technologies can well maintain the color, nutritional value and freshness of meat and inhibit the growth of spoilage bacteria, thus extending the shelf-life of meat. In this paper, the gases commonly used in modified atmosphere packaging and the antimicrobial mechanism of bioprotective bacteria are introduced, and their combined application in meat preservation is reviewed. Future prospects for the combined application of the two preservation technologies are also discussed in order to provide a reference for the promotion of their combination as a food preservation method.

Essential oils, natural ingredients extracted from plants, can effectively inhibit the growth of microorganisms, but their excessive use may damage the sensory quality of food. The application of new non-thermal sterilization technologies can inhibit the growth of microorganisms, but high-intensity physical technologies may affect the quality of products. It has been proved that the combination of plant essential oils and non-thermal technologies can reduce the use of essential oils, reduce the power of non-thermal technologies and shorten the processing time. In this paper, the application of plant essential oils combined with cold plasma, high pressure processing or irradiation in the preservation of meat products is discussed. The inhibition effect and mechanism on bacterial growth are outlined. Hopefully, this review will provide a theoretical basis for the combined application of plant essential oils and non-thermal technologies in the preservation of meat products.

Meat and meat products are rich in nutrients such as protein and fat and prone to spoilage during processing or improper storage due to microbial contamination. Natural antimicrobial agents have been widely used as meat preservatives because of their excellent antibacterial activity, safety, and biodegradability. However, some natural antimicrobial agents are of high volatility, low water solubility, and thermal instability, which limits their application in meat and meat products preservation. Nanoemulsions can allow incorporation of natural antimicrobial agents into their interior to improve the stability, antibacterial activity and release performance of natural antimicrobial agents, thus alleviating their limitations. In this review, the composition, preparation methods, antibacterial mechanism of natural antimicrobial-loaded nanoemulsions are summarized. Furthermore, the recent progress in the application of natural antimicrobial-loaded nanoemulsions in meat preservation is discussed to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for the application of natural antimicrobial-loaded nanoemulsions in meat and meat product preservation.

This study investigated the effects of inoculation with different bioprotective bacteria on the bacterial counts, physicochemical properties, flavor characteristics and sensory evaluation of vacuum-packed Harbin red sausages during storage. Compared with the uninoculated control and Latilactobacillus sakei B2, a commercial bioprotective bacterium, single and mixed (1:1) inoculations with two bioprotective bacterial strains isolated in our laboratory, Pediococcus acidilactici L1 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HG1-1, significantly inhibited the growth of the spoilage bacteria Acinetobacter and Staphylococcus (P < 0.05), conferring the sausage superior color and texture characteristics, delaying lipid oxidation, and thereby making the product have higher flavor scores and overall acceptability at the end of storage. The electronic tongue and electronic nose results revealed that Harbin red sausages inoculated with single and mixed cultures of P. acidilactici L1 and L. plantarum HG1-1 had the most similar odor and taste characteristics at the end of storage. Overall, both single and mixed inoculations with P. acidilactici L1 and L. plantarum HG1-1 showed superior bioprotective effects on vacuum-packed Harbin red sausages compared with commercial L. sakei B2, with the mixed inoculation treatment being the most effective.

Myofibrillar protein is the most abundant protein in meat products, and its structure and functional properties largely determine the quality of meat products. Power ultrasound, a non-thermal processing technology, has been widely used in the meat industry. The sonication of a liquid medium generates cavitation bubbles, and the resultant physical forces can be considered as the major mechanism responsible for changes in protein structure and functional properties. In this paper, the principle of ultrasound is introduced, and the effect of power ultrasound on the structure and functional properties of myofibrillar protein is reviewed in detail. Furthermore, this paper also discusses the recent progress in the application of power ultrasound in improving meat quality traits such as tenderness, water-binding capacity, color and flavor, and future prospects are proposed as well. Overall, this review provides a theoretical basis for promoting the application of power ultrasound in meat products.

3D printing technology is an emerging digital food production technology that can design and produce new foods with higher nutritional value and better sensory quality. Meat is an important part of the human diet that provides a variety of nutrients. Currently, there is a huge market demand for 3D printing technology based on meat processing, so that it has a high development value. This article briefly introduces the reader to the structure and principle of the 3D food printer, discusses in detail 3D printing technologies based on minced meat and cultured meat, and the key process parameters affecting the two printed meat products and the influence of post-processing on product quality. Also, future prospects for the development of 3D printing technology for meat products are discussed. Finally, the concept and application of 4D and 5D printing are briefly described. We hope that this review will provide a reference for multidimensional printing of foods.

The development and application of sensor detection technology based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) have been a hot topic of research in recent years. Being characterized by convenience, high efficiency, high sensitivity, low cost and good repeatability, this detection technology holds great promise for a wide range of applications in the detection of endogenous harmful substances and prohibited additives in meat products. MIP having a specific adsorption effect, MIP-based sensors allow easy detection and quantification of the presence of endogenous harmful substances and prohibited additives in meat products. This review introduces readers to the mechanism of MIP and the principle and classification of MIP-based sensors, highlighting the current applications of MIP-based sensors to detect veterinary drug residues, banned drugs and biogenic amines in meat products, which may provide a reference for better application of MIP-based sensors in the field of meat safety detection.