Quality Assessment of Fresh Meat from Several Species Based on Free Amino Acid and Biogenic Amine Contents during Chilled Storage

Abstract

This paper studies the changes that occur in free amino acid and biogenic amine contents of raw meats (beef, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey) during storage (2 °C, 10 days). The meat cuts samples were harvested from a retail outlet (without getting information on the animals involved) as the following: Beef leg (four muscles), pork leg (five muscles), lamb leg (seven muscles), turkey leg (four muscles), and chicken breast (one muscle). Meat composition varied according to meat types. In general, pH, microbiology counts, biogenic amine (BA), and free amino acid (FAA) contents were also affected by meat types and storage time (p < 0.05). Chicken and turkey presented the highest levels (p < 0.05) of FAAs. Total free amino acids (TFAA) were higher (p < 0.05) in white meats than in red ones. The behavior pattern, of the total free amino acids precursors (TFAAP) of Bas, was saw-toothed, mainly in chicken and turkey meat during storage, which limits their use as quality indexes. Spermidine and spermine contents were initially different among the meats. Putrescine was the most prevalent BA (p < 0.05) irrespective of species. In general, chicken and turkey contained the highest (p < 0.05) levels of BAs, and TFAAP of BAs. In terms of the biogenic amine index (BAI), the quality of chicken was the worst while beef meat was the only sample whose quality remained acceptable through the study. This BAI seems to be more suitable as a quality index for white meat freshness than for red meat, especially for beef.

Fatty Acid Content, Flavor Compounds, and Sensory Quality of Pork Loin as Affected by Dietary Supplementation with l‐arginine and Glutamic Acid

“…Alanine was the most abundant FAA, which reached 13.78 ± 0.44 mg/100 g muscle on average for all the five dietary treatments. This is in agreement with literatures, which reported that alanine had the highest concentration (18.70 mg/100 g) (Triki, Herrero, Jimenez‐Colmenero, & Ruiz‐Capillas, ) and accounted for the greatest percentage (13.25‐14.49%) of total FAAs (Chang et al., ) in fresh pork meat. The total FAAs determined in the present study were between 69.35 and 75.63 mg/100 g, which is consistent with reports that 77.50 mg/100 g of total FAA was determined in pork leg cuts (Triki et al., ).…”

Biogenic amines formation and their importance in fermented foods

“…The consumption of foods containing high concentrations of biogenic amines has been associated with health hazards [22]. High concentrations of certain amines in food may be interpreted as a consequence of poor quality of the raw materials used, contamination, or inappropriate conditions during food processing and storage [31].…”

“…The determination of biogenic amines and free amino acid fractions can provide useful information for the industry regarding freshness or spoilage and sanitary quality used as raw material for foods preparation. High concentrations of certain amines in food may be interpreted as a consequence of poor quality of the raw materials used, contamination, or inappropriate conditions during food processing and storage [31]. A number of swift and accurate analytical methods have been developed to determine biogenic amines levels in different foods.…”

Flexible and Printed Electrochemical Immunosensor Coated with Oxygen Plasma Treated SWCNTs for Histamine Detection

“…Among the most widely known foodborne toxicants, biogenic amines are a class of organic compounds formed through the decarboxylation of amino acids by microorganisms [3]. In particular, histamine, 2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)ethanamine is a heterocyclic amine, synthesized from the microbial decarboxylation of the amino acid histidine [4]. Ingestion of sufficient quantities of histamine in food-typically in spoiled fish-is usually associated with "scombroid poisoning", a widely known foodborne intoxication [5].…”