Open Access
Physicochemical and sensory assessments in Spain and United States of PGI-certified Ternera de Navarra vs. Certified Angus Beef
(MDPI, 2021) Beriain Apesteguía, María José; Murillo Arbizu, María Teresa; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Ibáñez Moya, Francisco C.; Cord, Christine Leick; Carr, Tom R.; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
The physicochemical and sensory differences between the PGI-Certified Ternera de Navarra (CTNA) (Spanish origin) and Certified Angus Beef (CAB) (US origin) were assessed in Spain and the USA. To characterize the carcasses, the ribeye areas (REAs), and marbling levels were assessed in both testing places. Twenty striploins per certified beef program were used as study samples. For sensory analysis, the striploins were vacuum packaged and aged for 7 days at 4◦ C and 85% RH in each corresponding laboratory. Thereafter, the samples were half cut and frozen. One of the halves was shipped to the other counterpart-testing place. The fat and moisture percentage content, Warner Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF), and total and soluble collagen were tested for all the samples. The CAB carcasses had smaller REAs (p < 0.0001) and exhibited higher marbling levels (p < 0.0001). The CAB striploins had a higher fat content (p < 0.0001) and required lower WBSF (p < 0.05) than the CTNA samples. Trained panelists rated the CAB samples as juicer (p < 0.001), more tender/less tough (p < 0.0001), and more flavorful (p < 0.0001) than the CTNA counterparts. This study shows that beef from both countries had medium-high tenderness, juiciness, and beef flavor scores and very low off-flavor scores. Relevant differences found between the ratings assigned by the Spanish and the US panelists suggest training differences, or difficulties encountered in using the appropriate terminology for defining each sensory attribute. Furthermore, the lack of product knowledge (i.e., consumption habits) may have been another reason for such differences, despite the blind sensory evaluation.
Open Access
Efecto de la maduración en la conservación de la carne de potro
(Asociación Interprofesional para el Desarrollo Agrario, 2018) Ruiz Darbonnens, Marta; Beriain Apesteguía, María José; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Cantalejo Díez, María Jesús; Sarriés Martínez, María Victoria; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
Para el desarrollo del presente estudio, se investigó el efecto de la maduración del músculo Longissimus dorsi (LD), por un lado como pieza entera y por otro lado tras el fileteado, sobre los parámetros de calidad de la carne de potro. Se emplearon músculos madurados 24 horas en la canal procedentes de ocho potros quincenos de raza Burguete. Cada lomo se dividió en dos partes iguales. Una parte no fue madurada, y la segunda fue madurada 7 días. Posteriormente, ambas partes fueron fileteadas y los filetes fueron conservados durante 9 días en bandejas cubiertas con film permeable al oxígeno en un expositor. No hubo interacción entre la maduración en el lomo y el tiempo de conservación posterior del filete. Los valores de textura fueron bajos desde el comienzo siendo considerada 'tierna'. Debido a la maduración, el enrojecimiento (a*) fue intenso y el contenido de metamioglobina fue bajo, pero la oxidación de los lípidos y la degradación del olor aumentaron. Cuando la maduración se llevó a cabo en filete, el tiempo de conservación y la atmósfera rica en oxígeno hicieron que la carne de potro se deteriorara rápidamente. La oxidación de los lípidos y la mioglobina y la degradación del color aumentaron día a día. Además, cuanto más tiempo estuvo expuesta la carne al oxígeno, peores fueron las valoraciones de color y olor sensorial de la carne de potro. El tiempo de conservación de la carne de potro fue inferior a 3 días, siendo el color característico el factor limitante.
Open Access
Effect of residual feed intake on meat quality in fattening Charolais bulls fed two contrasting diets
(Elsevier, 2024) Ellies-Oury, Marie Pierre; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Papillon, Sandrine; Albechaalany, John; Cantalapiedra-Hijar, G.; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
The selection of more efficient animals for breeding is of both economic and environmental interest to the industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the animals’ residual feed intake (RFI) ranking in interaction with the type of diet on the meat quality of Charolais beef cattle. Indeed, several biological mechanisms are associated with RFI, especially when animals are fed high starch-diets. It is therefore possible that quality parameters may show greater changes due to RFI in the context of high starch diets compared to high forage diets. An 84-day feed efficiency trial followed immediately by a second 112-day feed efficiency trial was conducted with a total of 100 animals fed either maize- or grass-diets for 196-days. At the end of the 84-day period, the 32 most divergent RFI animals (16 extreme RFI animals per diet, 8 RFI+ and 8 RFI-) were identified. They were slaughtered after 112-days of finishing. The Longissimus thoracis was characterised in terms of nutritional and sensory quality. RFI had no effect on lab colour, muscle shear force, total fat, fatty acid ratios and most of the total fatty acid content (especially n-3) irrespective of the diet. However, more efficient animals (RFI-) showed higher CLA contents compared to less efficient animals (RFI+) regardless of the diet and also a lower n6/n3 ratio only in animals fed the maize diets. Diet also had a significant effect on lipid and FA content as well as on FA composition.
Open Access
Adipose tissue modification through feeding strategies and their implication on adipogenesis and adipose tissue metabolism in ruminants
(MDPI, 2020) Urrutia Vera, Olaia; Mendizábal Aizpuru, José Antonio; Alfonso Ruiz, Leopoldo; Soret Lafraya, Beatriz; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Arana Navarro, Ana; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Dietary recommendations by health authorities have been advising of the importance of diminishing saturated fatty acids (SFA) consumption and replacing them by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly omega-3. Therefore, there have been efforts to enhance food fatty acid profiles, helping them to meet human nutritional recommendations. Ruminant meat is the major dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) source, but it also contains SFA at relatively high proportions, deriving from ruminal biohydrogenation of PUFA. Additionally, lipid metabolism in ruminants may differ from other species. Recent research has aimed to modify the fatty acid profile of meat, and other animal products. This review summarizes dietary strategies based on the n-3 PUFA supplementation of ruminant diets and their effects on meat fatty acid composition. Additionally, the role of n-3 PUFA in adipose tissue (AT) development and in the expression of key genes involved in adipogenesis and lipid metabolism is discussed. It has been demonstrated that linseed supplementation leads to an increase in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), but not in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), whilst fish oil and algae increase DHA content. Dietary PUFA can alter AT adiposity and modulate lipid metabolism genes expression, although further research is required to clarify the underlying mechanism.
Open Access
Vegetable by-products as alternative and sustainable raw materials for ruminant feeding: nutritive evaluation and their inclusion in a novel ration for calf fattening
(MDPI, 2023) Goenaga Uceda, Irantzu; García-Rodríguez, Aser; Goiri, Idoia; León Ecay, Sara; Heras Rojo, Joana de las; Aldai Elkoro-Iribe, Noelia; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
This research aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition, in vitro digestibility, and gas production kinetics of 15 vegetable by-products generated by the agri-food industry compared with corn silage as a reference raw material. Nutritional characterization and in vitro ruminal fermentation tests were performed to determine in vitro organic matter digestibility and digestible energy values, short-chain fatty acids, and the gas production profile. Results indicate that vegetable by-products were more degradable, more extensively fermented, and fermented at a faster rate than corn silage. Going one step further in the valorization of these by-products in animal feed, the second part of the research aimed to compare the novel ration designed for calf fattening with a conventional one. An artificial rumen unit was used to obtain nutrient disappearance, rumen fermentation parameters, and gas production of rumen digesta. Very slight differences were observed between both experimental rations, with their composition being the main difference. Most of the unitary vegetable by-products and all mixes, as real examples of by-product generation in the agri-food industry, have higher digestibility and a greater nutritional value than corn silage. These by-products showed the potential to be used in ruminant-ensiled rations and could replace part of the ingredients in conventional diets.
Open Access
Combination of spectral and textural features of hyperspectral imaging for the authentication of the diet supplied to fattening cattle
(Elsevier, 2024) León Ecay, Sara; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Arazuri Garín, Silvia; Goenaga Uceda, Irantzu; López Maestresalas, Ainara; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
This study explored the potential of hyperspectral imaging in the near infrared region (NIR-HSI) as a non-destructive and rapid tool to discriminate among two beef fattening diets. For that purpose, a feeding trial was carried out with a total of 24 purebred Pirenaica calves. Twelve of them were fed barley and straw (BS) while 11 animals were finished on vegetable by-products (VBPR). When comparing the reference measurements of the meat coming from those animals, only the total collagen ratio expressed the feeding effect (p-value<0.05). To undertake the authentication procedure, two discrimination approaches were run: partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and radial basis function-support vector machine (RBF-SVM). To precisely extract spectral and textural information from the lean portion of the meat steaks, various techniques were executed, such as principal component (PC) images, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) for selecting optimal wavelengths, and gray-level-co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). After hyperspectral imaging and the combination of their own texture features, samples were classified according to feeding diet with an overall accuracy of 72.92% for PLS-DA and 80.56% for RBF-SVM. So, the potential of using HSI technology to authenticate the meat obtained from beef supplied a diet based on circular economy techniques was made in evidence.
Open Access
Predicting beef carcass fatness using an image analysis system
(MDPI, 2021) Mendizábal Aizpuru, José Antonio; Ripoll, Guillermo; Urrutia Vera, Olaia; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Soret Lafraya, Beatriz; Arana Navarro, Ana; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
The amount and distribution of subcutaneous fat is an important factor affecting beef carcass quality. The degree of fatness is determined by visual assessments scored on a scale of five fatness levels (the SEUROP system). New technologies such as the image analysis method have been developed and applied in an effort to enhance the accuracy and objectivity of this classification system. In this study, 50 young bulls were slaughtered (570 ± 52.5 kg) and after slaughter the carcasses were weighed (360 ± 33.1 kg) and a SEUROP system fatness score assigned. A digital picture of the outer surface of the left side of the carcass was taken and the area of fat cover (fat area) was measured using an image analysis system. Commercial cutting of the carcasses was performed 24 h post-mortem. The fat trimmed away on cutting (cutting fat) was weighed. A regression analysis was carried out for the carcass cutting fat (y-axis) on the carcass fat area (x-axis) to establish the accuracy of the image analysis system. A greater accuracy was obtained by the image analysis (R2 = 0.72; p < 0.001) than from the visual fatness scores (R2 = 0.66; p > 0.001). These results show the image analysis to be more accurate than the visual assessment system for predicting beef carcass fatness.
Embargo
Using portable visible and near-infrared spectroscopy to authenticate beef from grass, barley, and corn-fed cattle
(Elsevier, 2024-12-01) León Ecay, Sara; López-Campos, Óscar; López Maestresalas, Ainara; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Schmidt, Bryden; Prieto, Nuria; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Ingeniería; Ingeniaritza; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua
Meat product labels including information on livestock production systems are increasingly demanded, as consumers request total traceability of the products. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIRS) to authenticate meat and fat from steers raised under different feeding systems (barley, corn, grass-fed). In total, spectra from 45 steers were collected (380-2,500 nm) on the subcutaneous fat and intact longissimus thoracis (LT) at 72 h postmortem and, after fabrication, on the frozen-thawed ground longissimus lumborum (LL). In subcutaneous fat samples, excellent results were obtained using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) with the 100 % of the samples in external Test correctly classified (Vis, NIR or Vis-NIR regions); whereas linear-support vector machine (L-SVM) discriminated 75-100 % in Test (Vis-NIR range). In intact meat samples, PLS-DA segregated 100 % of the samples in Test (Vis-NIR region). A slightly lower percentage of meat samples were correctly classified by L-SVM using the NIR region (75-100 % in Train and Test). For ground meat, 100 % of correctly classified samples in Test was achieved using Vis, NIR or Vis-NIR spectral regions with PLS-DA and the Vis with L-SVM. Variable importance in projection (VIP) reported the influence of fat and meat pigments as well as fat, fatty acids, protein, and moisture absorption for the discriminant analyses. From the results obtained with the animals and diets used in this study, NIRS technology stands out as a reliable and green analytical tool to authenticate fat and meat from different livestock production systems.
Open Access
The water footprint of Spanish Ternera de Navarra PGI beef: conventional versus novel feeding based on vegetable by-products from the local food industry
(Elsevier, 2024) González-Martínez, Pablo; Goenaga Uceda, Irantzu; León Ecay, Sara; Heras Rojo, Joana de las; Aldai Elkoro-Iribe, Noelia; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Martínez Aldaya, Maite; Agronomía, Biotecnología y Alimentación; Agronomia, Bioteknologia eta Elikadura; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Ciencias; Zientziak; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
CONTEXT: In recent years, livestock farming has been in the spotlight. Meat production is blamed for the pollution of aquifers and rivers, as well as for the large amount of water required to feed livestock. This has highlighted the need to find alternative feeding systems for cattle breeding able to reduce food/feed competition. OBJECTIVE: In this context, the present study compares the water footprint (WF) of conventionally fed beef versus beef fed with vegetable by-products from the local agri-food industry. METHODS: Twenty-four entire male young bulls were reared under the Ternera de Navarra Protected Geographic Identification (PGI) in the town of Azoz, in Navarra, Spain. Twelve calves were fattened on a diet based on vegetable by-products and fodder and grain to complement the ration (VBP diet) and the remaining animals were fattened with a traditional diet based on concentrate and straw (conventional or control diet). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Once the fattening was finished and animals were slaughtered, the results showed a larger green, blue and grey WF in terms of m3 per beef cattle for conventionally fed animals compared to those fed with VBP. However, when looking at the efficiency, the results were mixed. Conventionally fed cattle exhibited lower green and grey WFs but a higher blue WF compared to VBP-fed cattle, with values of 9955 l/kg, 1577 l/kg and 1731 l/kg versus 10,147 l/kg, 1457 l/kg and 1831 l/kg of carcass beef, respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: This means that a by-product-based calf diet can reduce blue water use. However, further research is needed on the indirect water pollution associated with animal-fed crop production.
Open Access
Application of MIR spectroscopy to the evaluation of chemical composition and quality parameters of foal meat: a preliminary study
(MDPI, 2020) Ruiz Darbonnens, Marta; Beriain Apesteguía, María José; Beruete Díaz, Miguel; Insausti Barrenetxea, Kizkitza; Lorenzo, José M.; Sarriés Martínez, María Victoria; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD
The aim of this work was to study the potential of mid-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate the chemical composition and quality parameters of foal meat according to differences based on slaughter ages and finishing diets. In addition, the wavelength ranges which contribute to this meat quality differentiation were also determined. Important characteristics as moisture and total lipid content were well predicted using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy (MIR) with Rv2 values of 82% and 66%, respectively. Regarding fatty acids, the best models were obtained for arachidonic, vaccenic, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) with Rv2 values over 65%. Quality parameters, as instrumental colour and texture and sensory attributes did not reach high prediction coefficients (R2). With the spectra data of the region 2198–1118 cm-1, samples were accurately classified according to slaughter age (78%) and finishing diet (72%). This preliminary research shows the potential of MIR spectroscopy as an alternative tool to traditional meat chemical composition methods. Finally, the wavelength range of the spectrum from 2198 to 1118 cm-1 showed good results for classification purposes.