40 research outputs found
Understanding the eating quality perceptions of international consumers to Australian sheepmeat
No full textConsistent eating quality of sheepmeat is crucial to satisfy consumers, ensuring that they repurchase product. Therefore, this thesis explored the key factors that affect consumer perceptions of eating quality, namely American, Australian and Chinese consumers tasting Australian sheepmeat. These international consumer groups were selected based on their divergent relationships with lamb and sheepmeat products, and relevance to the Australian sheepmeat industry. To test consumer responses, the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) sensory protocols were utilised as they provide an internationally accepted methodology to assess untrained consumer perceptions of sheepmeat and beef products. Further, the existing MSA prediction models already adopted by the Australian industry provide a mechanism for the seamless integration of findings from this work.
The first experiment compared the sensory responses of 2,160 untrained American, Australian and Chinese consumers to grilled longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus muscles from Australian lambs (n=164) and yearlings (n=168). Linear mixed effects models demonstrated no difference between the three countries for juiciness and overall liking scores, while for tenderness, liking of flavour and odour, American consumers scored highest, followed by Australian and Chinese consumers. Across these consumer groups, similar factors were shown to influence eating quality, yet varied in the magnitude of their effect. All consumer groups preferred the longissimus lumborum, lambs compared to yearlings, and Merino sired and female lambs. Analysis of consumer demographic factors and sheepmeat consumption habits on eating quality scores, demonstrated consumer age, gender, number of adults in a household and income affected sensory scores, however no consistent trend was observed across the different countries. Frequency of lamb consumption had an impact on sensory scores of the three consumer groups. Linear discriminate analyses were used to determine quality thresholds, and accuracy of predicted quality grades compared to actual consumer assigned grades. Chinese consumers demonstrated the most generous consignment of samples to higher quality grades, while American and Australian consumers were similarly more critical. The optimised discriminate function was also most accurate for Chinese consumer assignment to quality grades compared to Australian and American predictions. The last component of this work aimed to develop and test a new MSA cooking method, traditional Chinese hotpot. This experiment involved testing sensory responses of 720 untrained Chinese consumers to Australian lamb (n=108) and yearling (n=109) shoulder and leg cuts to assess the impact of cut-type and animal factors on eating quality using this cooking method. Shoulder cuts were more palatable than leg cuts, lambs were preferred to yearlings, and increasing intramuscular fat had a positive influence on sensory scores. Conversely, increasing muscularity negatively influenced eating quality scores. Results suggest shoulder and leg cuts cooked using hotpot could provide a better eating experience compared to some previously tested sheepmeat cooking methods. In addition, the influence of muscularity and intramuscular fat emphasise the importance of balanced selection for quality and yield traits to ensure consumer satisfaction is maintained.
Overall, results demonstrated that consumer sensory perceptions of sheepmeat are highly consistent across countries, irrespective of cultural differences, with minimal variation in eating quality scores between the three countries and a consistent response to animal and production factors. However, the discriminate analysis demonstrated some perceptions of quality varied between the three countries, suggesting further investigation through the scope of the new sheepmeat MSA model may be beneficial to determine whether adjustments should be made to prediction models for product destined for these markets
The impact of pre-slaughter sensory enrichment on reducing cattle stress
No full textCattle can be exposed to pre-slaughter stressors that have negative impacts on cattle behaviour and welfare. Environmental sensory modifications (sight, sound, smell) can reduce stress, but they have not been investigated in a commercial beef processing setting. This study examined if environmental sensory modifications could reduce pre-slaughter cattle stress and alter cattle behaviour at a commercial beef processing facility. The study was approved by the Murdoch University Animal Ethics Committee (R3302/20) and meets the requirements of ISAE ethics. The following environmental conditions were tested individually; (1) reduction of intermittent plant noise (removal of safety siren), (2) masking abattoir odours with hay odours provided in the cattle race way, and (3) lights added to illuminate cattle race way, and (4) an acoustic sound wall enclosing the lead-up chute to the site of euthanasia reducing the noise levels from 100 to 72 dB hertz. Cattle of mixed sex (female= 240, male= 994), age (0-8 teeth) and breed that had been on a 100-day grain feeding program prior to slaughter were selected. The breeds consisted of Angus, Murray Grey, Simmental, Limousin, Red Angus, Droughtmaster, and Ultra Black. Cattle were not selected for breed type, age or sex in this study and hence was not included in the analysis. The environmental modifications were evaluated singularly. Each experimental group consisted of between 70-110 cattle with 20 focal cattle for subsequent blood collection, as such each control and treatment group had 20 focals included (Table 1). Three replicates of each treatment were repeated giving a total sample size of approximately 70-110 cattle including 60 focal animals per treatment. Blood samples were collected immediately post-slaughter and were analysed for glucose, lactate, magnesium, creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase. All carcasses were graded by qualified Meat Standards Australia (MSA) graders after overnight refrigeration and measurements included ultimate pH (pHu), with increased levels indicating pre-slaughter stress. Cattle behaviours were assessed by Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA), in which observers scored the demeanour of the cattle using a fixed list of terms after viewing short video clips as they walked through the raceway leading to the site of euthanasia. The blood parameters and pHu as carcass variables were analysed using general linear models (GLM) to determine the impact of treatment, which was performed using the statistical package SAS. The QBA data was generated by the method of Principle Components Analysis (PCA), performed using the statistical package GenStat. Each of the assessed animals received a score on the two main PCA consensus dimensions that were generated, and these scores were analysed with a mixed‐model Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine if there was an effect of treatment (fixed factor) on the transformed PCA dimension scores given to the animals. The QBA observers had a significant consensus in their scores when observing cattle demeanour (P<0.01). The cattle groups exposed to the hay-odour and reduction of intermittent the noise both had higher QBA scores than the controls, with the observers scoring them as less “frustrated” and less “agitated” (P<0.01). Ultimate pHu decreased (P<0.05) for the hay-odour group and reduction of intermittent plant noise group compared to the controls. Additionally, there was a negative association between pHu and the QBA scores for the cattle exposed to the hay treatment (P<0.05). Whilst all carcasses met MSA minimum requirements for pHu, the effects of enrichments on pHu and the relationship between pHu and the QBA was small and may warrant further investigation. This study suggests that environmental sensory modifications for pre-slaughter cattle, such as odour-masking and noise reduction in the raceway immeditaely leading up to the point of slaughter at a commercial processing facility, can reduce indicators of pre-slaughter stress. These improvements would not only benefit the welfare of the cattle, but also meat quality for the consumer and the economic returns and ‘social license’ for the processor/producer
Intramuscular fat as a predictor of eating quality
No full textThe steady decline in sheepmeat consumption throughout Australia over recent decades has been partly driven by inconsistencies in eating quality. Eating quality, and thus sensory perception (tenderness, juiciness, flavour, overall liking), is a key factor influencing consumer demand of sheepmeat. A strong positive driver of consumer sheepmeat sensory scores is intramuscular fat (IMF), and has therefore been proposed as a required measurement in future grading systems. IMF of the M. longissimus lumborum (loin) has been shown to be moderately correlated with IMF of muscles throughout the lamb carcass, indicating potential to predict eating quality of these muscles based on loin IMF. Thus, there is potential to predict the eating quality of these muscles based on the IMF content of the loin.
Consumer sensory scores of untrained consumers were obtained for the grilled loin, M. semimembranosus (topside), M. gluteus medius (rump), M. biceps femoris (outside) and both the M. rectus femoris and M. vastus lateralis (knuckle) of 918 lambs. IMF was measured in all muscles using a lab-based near-infrared procedure. Linear mixed effects models (SAS Version 9.1) were used to analyse consumer scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall liking of all individual cuts. Two versions of these models were tested; firstly fitting loin IMF as a covariate, and secondly fitting IMF of each individual cut as a covariate. Both loin IMF and individual cut IMF predicted the eating quality of all cuts for tenderness and flavour. However, in the loin, outside and topside, only juiciness and overall liking scores could be predicted. In almost all cases, loin IMF accounted for more eating quality variation than individual cut IMF, describing between 8%-20% more variance. The results suggest that to predict eating quality, measuring of IMF within each cut is not needed, with only a single measurement of IMF taken from the loin required to predict eating quality. This is an important finding and supports current investment within the Australian sheepmeat industry to develop and implement an online objective measurement of IMF within the loin
The works of Tim Bobbin, esq. [pseud.] in prose and verse: with a memoir of the author,
No full textMemoir of the author.--View of the Lancashire dialect [By way of dialogue, between Tummus ... and Meary]--Glossary.--Remarks on Whitaker's History of Manchester.--More fruit from the same pannier, or additional remarks on ditto.--Shude-Hill fight.--List of high sheriffs, for the county of Lancaster.--Codicil to the last will and testament of James Clegg, conjurer.--Copy of an ancient Saxon ms.--Entry sent to the Excise officers.--Letters in prose.--Poetical pieces.--Letters in rhyme.--Epitaphs.--The dialog of Tummus and Meary, rendered into simple English.Mode of access: Internet
Somos como barcas bogando el río de lo infinito
No full textHistorical chronicle. This 2024 marks 140 years since the mysterious death of the young Josefina Pannier. In "We are like boats rowing the river of the infinite", a text halfway between historical research, narrative and journalistic chronicle, the author recreates the details of a tragic love developed in ancient San Juan Bautista.Crónica histórica. Este 2024 se cumplieron 140 años de la misteriosa muerte de la joven Josefina Pannier. En "Somos como barcas bogando el río de lo infinito", un texto a medio camino entre la investigación histórica, la narrativa y la crónica periodística, el autor recrea los pormenores de un amor trágico desarrollado en la antigua San Juan Bautista
Automating the determination of wave speed using the pu-loop method
No full textThe PU-loop (pressure-velocity loop) is a method for determining wave speed and relies on the linear relationship between the pressure and velocity in the absence of reflected waves. This linearity of the PU-loop during early systole, which is directly related to wave speed, has always been established by eye. This paper presents a new technique that establishes this linearity and thus determining wave speed online. Pressure and flow were measured in the ascending aorta of 11 anesthetised dogs. The slope of the PU-loop, indicating wave speed was determined by eye and by using the new technique. The difference between the slopes of the two methods is in the order of 3%. The new technique is convenient and allows for the online assessment of wave speed, which could be used as a bedside tool for the assessment of arterial compliance
Balises conceptuelles, terminologiques et méthodologiques pour aborder les transferts non marchands
No full textAnthropology has long identified the existence of non-commercial flow of goods and services. However, because of their heterogeneity, these social practices are difficult to conceptualize and categorize. While for a long time the concept of Gift dominated the literature on these forms of transfers, it is now widely criticized. But then, how can we precisely designate and define these specific forms of transfers and the field they belong to? Is there a conceptual frame able to bring together the great diversity of non-commecial transfers? If yes, what are its properties? This introduction shows that it remains useful and necessary to have common concepts to describe and distinguish transfers observed in different realities, although in empirical reality transfers are difficult to classify in a fixed and exclusive category. Building on and extending the conceptual and methodological advances in this field of research, this article seeks to characterize and delimit the field of non-commercial circulation and to identify certain specific forms of transfer within this field. It argues that the common feature of these non-commercial transfers is the necessary presence of another social relationship between the protagonists than the one established during the transactional interaction. When this social extra-economic relationship that shapes and conditions the course of the transfers falls within the sphere of interpersonal relations, a sub-field appears: the sphere of interpersonal transfers. On this basis, the author proposes a common grammar to name, distinguish and analyze the different forms of transfers and modes of circulation
Quantifying the Effect of Grilling and Roasting on the Eating Quality of Lamb Leg Muscles
No full textLamb eating quality was measured using untrained consumer sensory panels to determine the difference in intrinsic eating quality scores of grilled and roasted leg cut muscles. The Knuckle, Outside flat, and Topside from both legs of 65 mixed-sex lambs from diverse genetic backgrounds were prepared using alternative grill and roast cook methods. Each sample was eaten by 10 consumers and scored for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking. All cuts scored higher (p p p = 0.01) on tenderness and juiciness (p = 0.03) for Outside flat and Topside but had no effect (p > 0.05) on Knuckle for both grill and roast. This study identified that specific cooking methods can improve sensory traits for individual cuts and suggests that a cut-by-cook method eating quality model for sheep meat can therefore increase consumer satisfaction. 0.05) on Knuckle for both grill and roast. This study identified that specific cooking methods can improve sensory traits for individual cuts and suggests that a cut-by-cook method eating quality model for sheep meat can therefore increase consumer satisfaction
Conceptual, Terminological and Methodological Foundations for Addressing Non-Commercial Transfers
No full textInternational audienceAnthropology has long identified the existence of non-commercial flow of goods and services. However, because of their heterogeneity, these social practices are difficult to conceptualize and categorize. While for a long time the concept of Gift dominated the literature on these forms of transfers, it is now widely criticized. But then, how can we precisely designate and define these specific forms of transfers and the field they belong to? Is there a conceptual frame able to bring together the great diversity of non-commecial transfers? If yes, what are its properties? This introduction shows that it remains useful and necessary to have common concepts to describe transfers observed in different realities, although in empirical reality transfers are difficult to classify in a fixed and exclusive category. Building on and extending the conceptual and methodological advances in this field of research, this article seeks to characterize and delimit the field of non-commercial circulation and to identify certain specific forms of transfer within this field. It argues that the common feature of these non-commercial transfers is the necessary presence of another social relationship between the protagonists than the one established during the transactional interaction. When this social relationship that shapes and conditions the course of the transfers falls within the sphere of interpersonal relations, a sub-field appears: the sphere of interpersonal transfers. On this basis, the author proposes a common grammar to name, distinguish and analyze the different forms of transfers that constitute non-commercial circulation
Quantifying the Effect of Grilling and Roasting on the Eating Quality of Lamb Leg Muscles
No full textLamb eating quality was measured using untrained consumer sensory panels to determine the difference in intrinsic eating quality scores of grilled and roasted leg cut muscles. The Knuckle, Outside flat, and Topside from both legs of 65 mixed-sex lambs from diverse genetic backgrounds were prepared using alternative grill and roast cook methods. Each sample was eaten by 10 consumers and scored for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking. All cuts scored higher (p < 0.001) when grilled compared with when roasted for all traits except for Topside tenderness. Grilled Knuckle scored higher than roast Knuckle by 13.6%, 23.9%, 14.4% and 15.8% for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking, respectively. The grilled Outside flat scored higher than roast Outside flat by 14.1%, 27.1%, 10.9%, and 14.3% for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking, respectively. Finally, grilled Topside scored higher than roast Topside by 21.3%, 7.4%, and 6.6% for juiciness, flavor, and overall liking, respectively. Carcass traits for intramuscular fat and shear force had a significant (p < 0.001) effect on all eating quality traits for both grill and roast cuts. Girth rib fat had a significant effect (p = 0.01) on tenderness and juiciness (p = 0.03) for Outside flat and Topside but had no effect (p > 0.05) on Knuckle for both grill and roast. This study identified that specific cooking methods can improve sensory traits for individual cuts and suggests that a cut-by-cook method eating quality model for sheepmeat can therefore increase consumer satisfaction
