Causes and Contributing Factors to “Dark Cutting” Meat: Current Trends and Future Directions: A Review : Causes of dark cut meat…

Unacceptable water-holding capacity costs the meat industry millions of dollars annually. However, limited progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms that underlie the development of drip or purge. It is clear that early postmortem events including rate and extent of pH decline, proteolysis and even protein oxidation are key in influencing the ability of meat to retain moisture. Much of the water in the muscle is entrapped in structures of the cell, including the intra- and extramyofibrillar spaces; therefore, key changes in the intracellular architecture of the cell influence the ability of muscle cells to retain water. As rigor progresses, the space for water to be held in the myofibrils is reduced and fluid can be forced into the extramyofibrillar spaces where it is more easily lost as drip. Lateral shrinkage of the myofibrils occurring during rigor can be transmitted to the entire cell if proteins that link myofibrils together and myofibrils to the cell membrane (such as desmin) are not degraded. Limited degradation of cytoskeletal proteins may result in increased shrinking of the overall muscle cell, which is ultimately translated into drip loss. Recent evidence suggests that degradation of key cytoskeletal proteins by calpain proteinases has a role to play in determining water-holding capacity. This review will focus on key events in muscle that influence structural changes that are associated with water-holding capacity.

The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the selection, growth rate and metabolic activity of the bacterial flora is presented for meat (pork and beef) and cooked, cured meat products. The predominant bacteria associated with spoilage of refrigerated beef and pork, are Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Shewanella putrefaciens. The main defects in meat are off-odours and off-flavours, but discolouration and gas production also occur. Bacteria associated with the spoilage of refrigerated meat products, causing defects such as sour off-flavours, discolouration, gas production, slime production and decrease in pH, consist of B. thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp. Luctobacillus spp. Leuconostoc spp. and Weissella spp. Analysis of spoilage as measured by bacterial and chemical indicators is discussed. It is concluded that a multivariate approach based on spectra of chemical compounds, may be helpful in order to analyse spoilage, at least for spoilage caused by lactic acid bacteria. The consequences of bacteria bacteria interactions should be evaluated more.

This paper reviews the effects of road transport on the welfare, carcass and meat quality of cattle, swine and poultry in North America (NA). The main effects of loading density, trailer microclimate, transport duration, animal size and condition, management factors including bedding, ventilation, handling, facilities, and vehicle design are summarized by species. The main effects listed above all have impacts on welfare (stress, health, injury, fatigue, dehydration, core body temperature, mortality and morbidity) and carcass and meat quality (shrink, bruising, pH, color defects and water losses) to varying degrees. It is clear that the effect of road transport is a multi-factorial problem where a combination of stressors rather than a single factor is responsible for the animal's well-being and meat quality post transport. Animals least fit for transport suffer the greatest losses in terms of welfare and meat quality while market ready animals (in particular cattle and pigs) in good condition appear to have fewer issues. More research is needed to identify the factors or combination of factors with the greatest negative impacts on welfare and meat quality relative to the species, and their size, age and condition under extreme environmental conditions. Future research needs to focus on controlled scientific assessments, under NA conditions, of varying loading densities, trailer design, microclimate, and handling quality during the transport process. Achieving optimal animal well-being, carcass and meat quality will entirely depend on the quality of the animal transport process.