Search results

This article focuses on the assessment of quality of meat and meat products that are available on the local market as well as consumers’ awareness regarding meat quality and handling practices.

This paper summarises the results of the consumer survey, which had been carried out in six European countries in order to obtain comparable information about consumer behaviour towards meat and perception of fresh meat quality. Quality evaluation of fresh meat in this study is supposed to consist of two phases: a stage previous to the actual purchase and a stage after the purchase while eating the meat. Concerning the first stage, it becomes obvious that for beef and pork the place of purchase plays a major role as quality indicator, while the price was distinctly considered to be least helpful. “Colour” is the most important intrinsic quality cue for all three meats. In the second phase of quality evaluation after purchase, “flavour” is one of the most significant quality characteristics. Concerning the safety of beef, pork and chicken, “freshness” was shown to be the most important indicator. Consequently, it would be advisable for producers and retailers to use appropriate signals in order to communicate “freshness” to the consumers. Concerns about meat are rated very highly in each of the countries. Trustworthy signals of meat safety are required, which are able to reduce the risk felt by consumers.

By law, no substance may be added to fresh meat to enhance its colour; so one might be forgiven for thinking that colour is a good natural guide to meat quality. Indeed, cookery books often urge you to choose bright red meat and avoid that which is dull and brown. But this preference is based on a fallacy. The appearance of bright red meat is undoubtedly psychologically attractive, but it is not an indicator of quality. The fact is that meat colour is not a reliable guide to either freshness or flavour. As we shall see, a number of factors — ranging from the age of the animal through to the eventual packaging and display — can affect the colour of meat; although in most cases they do not affect the eating quality of the meat after cooking. It is the chemistry of the pigment myoglobin which determines meat colour, and it is affected by a variety of chemical and physical factors.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the textural, color, sensory and microbiological properties of meat momos.

Three different levels of boiled chopped chicken meat, namely, T1 (45 per cent chicken meat), T2 (50 per cent chicken meat) and T3 (55 per cent chicken meat) were taken as filling material for preparation of meat momos.

There was no significant difference in lightness (L*), redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values. The mean hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness values also differed non significantly. Salmonella and Coliform were not detected in freshly prepared chicken momos. No significant difference was observed for total plate count and the sensory attributes except meat flavor intensity. The overall sensory scores were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher for T2 treatment than other two treatments.

The trials are needed to carry out further study to evaluate storage stability of developed momos.

Meat momos available in the market are not standardized and do not have a defined nutrient content. The standardization and quality evaluation of chicken meat moms can provide the platform for their commercialization at industrial level.

Manufacturers are producing an extensive range of added value products which are formulated using meat replacers but which are designed to appeal to a wide range of consumers, above and beyond the “traditional vegetarian” market. This study considered the relatively recent impact of such products on the Northern Ireland market, with a particular emphasis on the quality and acceptability of Quorn based products. A small‐ scale questionnaire (n = 100) considered customer perceptions of meat replacers, whilst the acceptance of selected tofu, textured vegetable protein (TVP) and Quorn products was measured using selected sensory evaluation techniques. The study concluded that Quorn can offer similar texture and flavour attributes to those consumers who wish to avoid meat products for health and/or safety reasons. It is this customer base which needs to be targeted, but it must be noted that negative perceptions of meat replacers still exist. Therefore, further developments need to be supported by appropriate marketing strategies which will both attract and educate consumers and help to achieve a sustained level of purchasing.

The important quality characteristics of lean meat are freshness, tenderness, colour, flavour, juiciness and water‐holding capacity (i.e. absence of drip). Lean meat is produced from muscle and the biochemistry of muscle has provided a firm theoretical basis for meat technology. In many instances, some of which will be discussed here, a knowledge of muscle biochemistry has allowed meat technologists to improve meat quality or to avoid its deterioration. Before considering the biochemical basis of meat quality it is necessary to outline some general aspects of the structure and metabolism of muscle.

In 2006 the world global poultry meat market was developing under the influence of shocks caused by the outbreak of the avian influenza which spread to the poultry meat market at the end of 2005. The virus affected the entire world poultry meat industry and thus visibly marked the world trade in poultry meat in 2006. This paper aims to investigate these issues.

The paper concentrates on the results of the primary quantitative research which was carried out by using a method of individual personal interviews in a sample of n=2,452 poultry meat consumers, aged between 18 and 65 years and in the selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia). A positive perception of poultry meat was determined since the consumers in all three analyzed countries perceived it as tasty and healthy. Special attention was devoted to studying the importance of meat origin in a buying‐decision‐making process.

The trends in poultry meat consumption which were determined in the study of the European poultry meat market were thus confirmed with the quantitative research carried out in the selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The positive perception of poultry meat and the importance of its origin in the buying‐decision‐making process are evident in all the analyzed countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough analysis of meat demand in China and predict future trends in meat consumption.

Expenditure as well as Marshallian and Hicksian demand elasticities of various meats in China are evaluated using the linear almost ideal demand system.

Results from this paper show that pork, the primary meat in Chinese diets, has become a necessity and that poultry, beef, mutton, and fish are considered luxuries within the meat budget allocation of Chinese households. Furthermore, the results predict that for any increase in future meat expenditure, the largest share of that increase will be allocated to pork consumption.

This paper fills a gap currently present in the empirical literature regarding time series meat demand analysis in China. This paper makes use of newly available time series data on Chinese meat consumption and prices to estimate expenditure as well as own‐price and cross‐price elasticities. Implications for both domestic meat producers and grain exporters are discussed.

The major purpose of this study was to compare the fresh chicken meat consumption structure of urban and rural households of different income levels in Van province, Turkey.

The sample size of 96 urban and 95 households were selected randomly using sampling selection method where the population is limited. The data were collected by personnel interviewing from the households in eight districts and eight villages of Van province, Turkey between 15 November 2004 and 5 March 2005. The households were classified as the lowest, medium, upper medium and the highest income groups. Independent‐samples t‐students, one‐way ANOVA, chi‐square and linear regression statistical tests were used.

The average yearly fresh chicken meat consumption per head was 19.1 and 14.6 kg for urban and rural households, respectively. According to regression test results $1,000 increase in yearly income will raise the yearly chicken meat consumption of urban and rural households by 3.8 and 8.7 kg, respectively. The income was effective on both the consumption level and behavior of households. The urban households attached more attention to habit and nutrition value variables, while the cheapness was the major factor affecting the rural households' preference of chicken meat.

The article analyzes the differences/similarities of urban and rural households in terms of consumption expenditures and consumers' behaviors towards fresh chicken meat. The paper is an original research subject as regards its potential contributions of the nutritional measures to be taken and marketing strategies to be developed in the region.

Meat speciation is the identification of the species from which the meat has originated. Once meat has been removed from the carcass it is not always easy to visually identify the different species. The more processed the meat, the less recognisable it becomes from its original species. It is at this stage that adulteration and contamination can occur.