A method for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in sultanas from Turkey using extraction with a sodium bicarbonate solution (2% NaHCO3) followed by immunoaffinity clean-up and liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was used to assess the frequency of occurrence and level of OTA. In-house validation was carried out with spiked samples at levels of 0.15, 1.5, 5.0 and 10 microg kg-1 and average recoveries were 91, 93, 87 and 89%, respectively. The limits of detection and limit of quantification in Turkish sultanas were 0.026 and 0.09 microg kg-1, respectively. A survey for the presence of OTA was carried out on 264 unprocessed sultana samples during the production seasons between 1998 and 2000 collected annually from vineyards and from packing-houses. The analyses of unprocessed sultanas showed that 32.2% of the total number of samples contained no detectable OTA, whereas 9.8% of sultana samples had OTA concentrations above 10 microg kg-1, and the remaining 58% had levels within the range 0.026-10 microg kg-1. There were big differences in median concentrations between years. Considering the year of production, it appears that sultanas produced in 1998 and 2000 showed the lowest incidence of OTA contamination (median<0.02 microg kg-1), whereas 2002 showed the highest incidence (median=4.3 microg kg-1). The overall mean OTA concentration was calculated as 3.4 microg kg-1, and the overall median as 0.9 microg kg-1. Among the samples analysed, the highest detected level of OTA was 54 microg kg-1.

All round muscles were excised postmortem from 40 native female young and old goat, waterbuffalo, sheep and cattle carcasses. The age break point between young and old animals was 30 months for cattle and waterbuffalo and 12 months for sheep and goat. Five animals of each species and age were slaughtered in accordance with standard commercial methods. All tissue samples were subsequently analyzed for various chemical (moisture, fat, ash, total proteins, salt soluble protein, moisture/total protein ratio, pH) and physical (emulsion stability, viscosity) properties. The emulsifying and extractable emulsifying capacity of the muscle from each species was determined.

Semitendinosus (ST) muscle samples were excised pre- and postrigor from 32 experimental animals (Bos taurus). Four intact and 4 castrate males were exsanguinated when they reached age endpoints of 8, 12, 16, and 20 months. The samples were sectioned, histochemically fiber-typed for SDH and ATPase activity, and examined for giant myofibers. Of the 32 muscles analyzed, only one (8-month intact male) postrigor ST contained a giant myofiber that was hematoxylin and eosin positive, SDH negative, ATPase positive, and 2 × the size of the surrounding fibers. Subsequent studies demonstrated these giant type II white myofibers are an anomaly of muscle contraction and not a distinct fiber type as has been previously reported. This is a first report of giant white or type II myofibers in postrigor bovine skeletal muscle.

Semitendinosus (ST) muscle samples were excised from 8 intact and 8 castrate male animals (Bos taurus) when they reached age end-points of 8, 12, 16, and 20 months. All three principal myofiber phenotypes (IC, IIA, IIB) increased in size with increasing age, with the IIA (fast-white) fibers usually larger than the other two types. Only at 16 and 20 months were the type II myofibers from intact males consistently larger than that from castrates. The amount of IIA fibers always exceeded that of the other two phenotypes at every age. Myofiber characteristics were more highly correlated with animal age than with either total body weight or total muscle mass. An ontogenetic scheme is proposed to illustrate the dynamic interrelationships of the three ST myofiber phenotypes.

Semitendinosus muscle samples were excised prerigor from 64 crossbred beef animals. Eight animals of each sex condition (bullocks and steers) were slaughtered when they reached age end-points of 8-, 12-12-, 16-and 20-months. The results indicated a significant effect of sex on all hydrometric muscle properties. The values for these traits were generally higher in muscle from bullocks. These differences were especially pronounced in animals 16 months and older. Sex had little effect on muscle pH or the percentages of salt soluble, extractable, and total muscle protein. However, most traits were highly correlated with age. No significant effects of sex regardless of age on emulsifying capacity were noted and many of these traits were unaffected by animal age between 16 and 20 months. Although older animals have less salt soluble protein, its emulsifying capacity is greater and more efficient.