Earticle

The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters and breeding values of four carcass traits of the Hanwoo cattle breed: carcass weight (CWT), back fat thickness (BFT), eye-muscle area (EMA), and marbling score (MAR). Genetic parameters and breeding values were estimated based on data (“estimating dataset”) collected from September 2004 to March 2019. Predictability of parental breeding value estimates (EBVs) for the performances of progeny of the control group was evaluated on another dataset (“testing dataset”) using linear model equations involving parental EBVs classified into sex and age groups. The parental EBVs of animals in the testing dataset were traced by pedigree relationships of animals in the estimating dataset. Heritability estimates of CWT, BFT, EMA, and MAR were 0.53, 0.43, 0.38, and 0.54, respectively. Genetic correlation coefficients of CWT with BFT, EMA, and MAR were +0.32, +0.59, and +0.11, respectively. Environmental correlation coefficients of CWT with BFT, EMA, and MAR were +0.46, +0.55, and +0.29, respectively. In the testing dataset, partial regression coefficients of phenotypic values of progeny on sire EBVs ranged from +0.43 to +0.60 depending on traits fit into the models, while those on dam EBVs ranged from +0.54 to +0.67. All partial regression coefficients were statistically significant and were approximated to the expected value of +0.5. Together, these values validate the use of parental EBVs for predicting progeny carcass phenotypes in the Hanwoo herd.

This study examined the quality characteristics of chicken breast emulsion-type sausages manufactured with different contents of Zanthoxylumschinifolium (Z.S.) powder (0, 1, 2 and 3%). The changes to the samples upon inclusion of Z.S. powder were monitored by measuring the proximate composition, pH, color, cooking yield, viscosity, texture profile analysis and protein solubility. The sausages manufactured with increasing amounts of Z.S. powder showed a decrease significantly in fat content (p<0.05), whereas the ash content increased. The pH of the cooked samples also decreased significantly with the increasing content of Z.S. powder (p<0.05). Before and after cooked lightness significantly decreased as the Z.S. powder content increased (p<0.05). The redness of the cooked samples also increased significantly with an increasing amount of Z.S. powder (p<0.05). Samples that contained 2% and 3% of Z.S. powder resulted in a significantly larger cooking yield compared to the control sample and the one containing 1% of Z.S. powder (p<0.05). The viscosity of the uncooked samples also increased with increasing amount of Z.S. powder. Furthermore, the samples containing 3% of Z.S. powder showed significantly lower levels of hardness and springiness than the control sample (p<0.05). In addition, the sample with 3% of Z.S. powder contained showed significantly higher total protein and myofibrillar protein levels than the other samples (p<0.05). Overall, the 3% of Z.S. powder chicken breast emulsion-type sausage performed well in most quality characteristic categories, and this formulation would be suitable for use in food manufacturing.

This study investigated the antioxidant properties of the Radix isatidis extract and the effect of substituting it with sodium nitrite (SN) in a pork patty. The antioxidant activity of the Radix isatidis water extract (RIWE) was compared to those of the methanol and chloroform extracts (RIME and RICE, respectively). Patties were prepared with five different treatments: (1) a control with no RIWE and SN, (2) T1 with 150 ppm SN, (3) T2 with 100 ppm SN + 0.1% RIWE, (4) T3 with 50 ppm SN + 0.3% RIWE, and (5) T4 with 0.5% RIWE. They were used to compare the oxidation stability for 12 days at 4℃. The extraction yield of RIWE was 3.2 and 18.7 times higher (p<0.05) than those of RIME and RICE, respectively, but RIWE had the lowest (p<0.05) 1,1`-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, superoxide dismutase-like activity, and total reducing ability. Patties with RIWE and SN exhibited lower (p<0.05) pH values after 12 days, compared to the control. After 4 days, the 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances content was lower (p<0.05) in T1, T2, T3, and T4 than in the control. The oxidation-reduction potential value was the lowest (p<0.05) in T3 and T4 after 4 days (p<0.05). T1, T2, T3, and T4 had a lower (p<0.05) volatile basic nitrogen content after 12 days, compared to the control. These findings suggest that RIWE has an antioxidant effect similar to that of SN, but further research on its antimicrobial effect may be required to determine if it is a good substitute for SN.

The experiment was undertaken to measure the potential impact of animal welfare on the pork quality under two different farming systems: C1 and C2, two conventional farms; W, an animal welfare farm. Ten pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) of live weight 110 kg were randomly selected from each treatment, and slaughtered under uniform conditions. The left loins were collected, and subsequently analyzed for proximate composition, meat quality traits, fatty acids, free amino acids, and antioxidative dipeptides. Pork from the welfare farm (W) had greater back-fat depth and fat content, but the values were not significantly different from C1 or C2. The W loins had significantly lower moisture contents and pH values compared to C1 or C2. The C2 loins showed highest contents of unsaturated fatty acids, whereas C1 had higher polyunsaturated fatty acids as compared to W. The treatments did not show any significant differences in the contents of free aspartic acid. Anserine (an antioxidant dipeptide) from the W loins was significantly lower than that from the conventional farms. The results indicate that pork quality characteristics from animal welfare-farmed pigs were not different from those of conventional farms. Therefore, it would be appropriate to evaluate the industrial value of animal welfare livestock only at the stage of pig production, rather than the meat quality of pork.