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

MODULO 1 (Massimiliano Petracci) – Meat and Egg Processing

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.

Quality characteristics of egg and egg processing. Main egg production systems and evolution of production and consumption of eggs. 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).

Meat processing. Meat products: definitions and legal requirements. Main non-meat ingredients used in the formulation of meat products. Principles and description of the main processing technologies and packaging solutions for meat and meat products.

MODULO 2 (Francesca Soglia) – Meat Quality

Meat production systems and statistics. Main beef, pork and poultry production systems and evolution of production and consumption of the meat on a global scale, European and national level.

Meat quality properties and functional properties of proteins. 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. Functional properties of skeletal muscle proteins and interactions between the components of the meat (water, proteins and lipids) during formulation and processing phases.

Slaughtering. Main preslaughter (loading, transport and lairage) and slaughtering phases (stunning, electrical stimulation and preparation of carcasses, chilling and deboning) electrostimulation, for bovine, swine and poultry and their effect on carcass and meat quality. Functional properties of skeletal muscle proteins.

Meat abnormalities. Changes in morphophysiological muscle traits in response to selection for increased growth rate in modern swine and meat-type poultry genotypes. Origin and consequences on meat quality of common (PSE and DFD) and emerging poultry abnormalities (white striping, wooden breast and spaghetti meat).

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

- Improving poultry meat quality. Burleigh Doods, 2023

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

The book chapters useful to integrate the teaching material will be reported in the last slide of the respective lectures (Power point) made available through the Virtuale platform.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures, seminars, demonstration activities and laboratory practises held in classrooms and laboratories.

As concerns laboratory practises of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 online, while Module 3 on health and safety is to be attended in class. Information about Module 3 attendance schedule is available on the website of your degree programme.

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 course units and Prof. Massimiliano will record the exam in AlmaEsami.

The oral examination of the course of "Meat and egg processing innovations" will consist of an interview lasting about 35 minutes 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 clarity in the presentation of the contents, in-depth knowledge and connection between the main topics, appropriate use of the specific terminology and language of the sector, ability to move within the different topics and achievement of an organic knowledge of the topics presented during the courses.

Teaching tools

Slides of the lectures (Power point) will be available through Virtuale platform.

Lab practises will be performed in laboratories of the Master in Food Science and Technology.

Office hours

See the website of Massimiliano Petracci

See the website of Francesca Soglia