29597 - Meat and Egg Processing Innovations

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be aware of the relationships among animal production systems and chemico-physical and functional properties of animal-origin products (meat and egg) and their behaviour during processing and storage. Students will be also able to understand general principles to study and design innovative further processed meat products and egg products.

Course contents

Definition of innovation in the meat industry. Origin and evolution of meat consumption and current trends in meat industry and marketing. Classification and examples of meat products currently marketed in Italy. Evolution of production and consumption on a global scale, European and national level of the meat and eggs.

Meat quality properties. Skeletal muscle structure. Types of muscle fibres. Chemical composition of the meat in relation to age of the animal and meat cuts. Physical and chemical characteristics of water, proteins and lipids of the meat. Process of transformation of muscle to meat and its impact on pH, colour, water holding capacity, tenderness, and susceptibility to lipid oxidation.

Slaugtering. Main slaughtering phases for bovine, swine and poultry and their effect on carcass and meat quality. Meat abnormalities as affected by peri-mortem phases.

Meat processing. Meat products: definitions and legal requirements. Interaction between the components of the meat (water, proteins and lipids) during formulation and processing phases. Non-meat ingredients used in the formulation of meat products (salts and functional compounds of plant origin, sweeteners, smoke solutions, emulsifiers, antimicrobials, colorants, antioxidants, and spices). Principles and description of the main processing technologies (grinding and reduction in meat fragments, marination by tumbling and injection, filling, forming, and breading/enrobing). Principles and description of the main packaging solutions of meat and meat products.

Quality characteristics of egg and egg processing. Commercial classification of eggs (weight and freshness) and main automatic egg grading machines. Chemical composition and nutritional value of eggs. Commercial grading of eggs by size and freshness (Reg. CE 557/2007). Main functional properties of eggs (foaming, gelling, emulsifying power and colouring and aromatic). Definition of egg products and legal requirements. Main technologies for egg processing (breaking, separation, pasteurization, concentration and dehydration).

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes

Reference books:

- Principles of meat science. Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2012

- Chimica degli alimenti (Cap. Carne e Uova). Piccin, 2014

- Encyclopedia of meat sciences. Academic Press, 2004

- Poultry meat processing. CRC Press, 2002

- Food Processing: principles and applications (Ch. 19. Eggs and Eggs Products Processing). John Wiley & Sons, 2014

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Laboratory practises

Seminaries held by food sector experts

Guided visits to processing plants of meat and eggs

Assessment methods

The course is part of the course of "Innovations and safety of products of animal origin" which also includes the course of "Bacterial traceability and food safety". The final vote of the entire integrated course is calculated as a weighted average of grades obtained in the courses of "Meat and egg processing innovations" and "Bacterial traceability and food safety". The examination commission will be composed of the professors in charge of the previous courses. The oral examination of the course of "Meat and egg processing innovations" will consist of an interview lasting about 1 hour during which three questions will be submitted. During this interview, theoretical and applicative knowledge of the student will be verified. In particular, it will be evaluated the ability to move within the different topics and the achievement of an organic knowledge of the topics presented during the courses.

Teaching tools

Power point slides of the lectures, laboratory for meat quality analysis

Office hours

See the website of Massimiliano Petracci