Quality and Safety of Fresh Beef in Retail: A Review

Abstract

This study aimed to review the scientific literature on the quality and safety of beef sold in retail, methodologies used for quality evaluation, and proposed interventions for the sector. Bibliographical research was performed in order to identify scientific articles using the electronic databases Ovid, PubMed, Scielo, LILACS, Scopus and Embase. Thirty-three articles were included in the review. Given the different dimensions of the studies, the results were organized into three categories, according to the following approaches: food, environment and handlers; consumers and selection criteria; and intervention strategies for the segment. The applied methodological strategies revealed inadequate conditions and neglect in several processing and operation stages that are fundamental to the maintenance of quality standards. The results confirm a worrying scenario and the presence of risks to consumers. Based on the studies evaluated, it is necessary to emphasize the consumer concern about the importance of the integrated information chain - all stages involved in the production process and meat distribution for retail meat stores. The reported conditions on different studies indicate the need for interventions, with a view to prevention of health risks, continued training of food handlers and transformation of evidenced realities. In this context, it is possible to point out the predominance of diagnostic studies, in contrast with interventional studies focused on the training / qualification of food handlers.

Preservative effect of chitosan-gelatine composite incorporated with pomegranate peel polyphenol on fresh meat

“…The oxidation of fresh beef after slaughter, and the oxidation of lipids and proteins during storage are serious problems (Gruffat et al, 2021). Beef contains polyunsaturated fats, water, and proteins that oxidise easily, resulting in poor meat quality, including changes in sensory quality, flavour, and odour (Antic et al, 2021;Júnior et al, 2022). The commonly used fresh-keeping methods for beef include vacuum packaging, aircontrolled packaging, and the addition of food additives and other methods (McMillin, 2017;Peck et al, 2020).…”

Design and development of a rapid meat detection system based on RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a-LFD

“…Food quality and safety are relevant to everyone, and with the pursuit of healthy food, nutritional quality has become the direction of personalized consumption in modern life. Meat has become a daily consumer product, and the demand for quantity as well as quality is increasing, so the raising of prices of high-quality meat such as beef and lamb in the market is obvious ( Scollan et al, 2017 ; Vidal et al, 2022 ). To enhance the profit space, there are cases where poor-quality meat is used as high-quality meat ( Li et al, 2020 ).…”

The Application of Ultraviolet Treatment to Prolong the Shelf Life of Chilled Beef

“…The characteristics of chilled beef, such as soft and elastic texture, low juice loss, high nutritional value, and delicious taste, make it popular among consumers [ 1 , 2 ]. However, during slaughtering, cutting, processing, and transportation, slaughter tools, personnel, cutting equipment, air, and water lead to cross-contamination of the carcass; thus, the beef is easily contaminated by microorganisms, resulting in meat deterioration [ 3 , 4 ].…”