The objective of this study was to investigate the physical and chemical composition, fatty acid profile and sensory property of horse meat according to meat quality grade(1 and 2) and cuts (loin, chuck roll and top round). The lipid content of loin was significantly higher(p0.05) in grade 1(4.65%) compared with grade 2(2.31%), whereas moisture content was lower(p0.05) in grade 1 than in grade 2. The pH value was significantly lower(p0.05) in loin than in other cuts regardless of meat quality grade. Shear force value of loin was significantly different(p0.05) between grades 1(5.87kg/cm2) and 2(10.86kg/cm2). Water-holding capacity values of loin, chuck roll and top round were not different(p0.05) between grades 1 and 2. Meat color values(L*, a* and b*) of loin, chuck roll and top round were not different(p0.05) between grades 1 and 2. Palmitoleic acid of loin in grade 1 (11.39%) was higher(p0.05) than that in grade 2(5.36%). Stearic acid of loin in grade 1(3.58%) was lower(p0.05) than that in grade 2(7.02%). Overall palatability of loin, chuck roll and top round did not differ(p0.05) between grades 1 and 2. Therefore, meat quality grade had mainly affected lipid and moisture contents, shear force, palmitoleic acid and stearic acid of horse loin; and horse loin of grade 2 had lower pH and higher L*, a* and b* than the other cuts.

This study was conducted to investigate whether water chilling had effect on water retention, freshness or internal temperature of chicken carcasses during chilling or storage in two different chicken processing plants (designated as A and B). A total of 240 carcasses from chicken processing plants (n = 120 per chicken processing plant) was randomly sampled and evaluated the effect of water chilling on carcass characteristics (i.e., water retention, water loss or freshness during chilling or storage). Torrymeter value was used as an indicator of freshness in chicken carcasses. Water chilling did not affect carcass water retention between the processing plants. However, chicken carcasses processing in B plant exhibited significantly higher freshness (p0.05) compared with those in A plant. This difference in freshness was mainly due to the longer transit time through the water chiller in A versus B plants. Water loss of carcasses during storage was not different between plants. It was found that carcass freshness can be affected by water chilling time as manifested in this study. Further study is warranted to see whether freshness or microbiological status of chicken carcasses may be affected depending on the chilling methods, i.e., air or water chilling

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dominance hierarchy in a dairy cattle herd on milk yield. Observations of social behaviors in a group of 126 Polish Holstein-Friesian cows were carried out for seven days, starting from the first grazing day. In order to estimate the position of each animal in the herd, the interactions and relationships between cows were studied. The indices of aggression, dominance and social rank were calculated. These data were used to calculate the competitive index, which enabled to divide all animals into the following subgroups of dominance: dominant cows, subdominant cows, subordinate cows, submissive cows and marginal cows.All dairy cows were at a similar age. Their social rank was found to be positively correlated with body weight and condition. Higher-ranking animals were characterized by a higher milk yield. Both social status and performance parameters may provide a basis for selecting animals and placing them into groups, so as to optimize milk production. | Celem pracy było poznanie hierarchii w stadzie krów oraz określenie jej związku z wydajnością mleczną. Obserwacje behawioralne dotyczące 126 krów rasy polskiej holsztyńsko-fryzyjskiej prowadzono przez siedem dni, począwszy od pierwszego wyjścia krów na pastwisko. W celu określenia miejsca w stadzie dla każdego osobnika sporządzono siatkę współzależności, a następnie na podstawie współczynników: agresywności, dominacji i wzajemnych współzależności obliczono współczynnik hierarchiczny, który pozwolił podzielić stado na krowy dominanty, subdominanty, osobniki podporządkowane, opanowane i marginesowe.W zbliżonym wiekowo stadzie krów mlecznych wykazano dodatni wpływ masy ciała i kondycji na pozycję w hierarchii. Zwierzęta z wyższych poziomów hierarchii charakteryzowały się większą wydajnością mleczną. Informacje dotyczące hierarchii w stadzie i parametrów użytkowości mlecznej poszczególnych sztuk powinny być uwzględniane w czasie tworzenia optymalnych grup technologicznych, jak również prowadzenia selekcji.

This study was aimed to evaluate the possibility of application to the KS A ISO 2859-1 Easy test, an international standards sampling inspection, to replace a sampling method of the current grading standard of chicken meats for the first time. As a result of screening capability to check for defective products, the current sampling was 0.61 and the KS A ISO 2859-1 Normal test was 0.70, suggesting that the latter inspection method was more accurate. If the KS A ISO 2859-1 conversion principle is applied, 40,530 won per day is saved for a 50-lot inspection. The current sampling and the KS A ISO 2859-1 Easy test did not exceed the reject limit for the number of defective products to satisfy the grade 1+ on chicken carcass size numbers 12, 9 and 8. Freshness was not significantly different between the current sampling and the KS A ISO 2859-1 Easy test. It is expected that using the KS A ISO 2859-1 Easy test with a smaller sample volume will have the same level of quality evaluation as the current sampling method while reducing costs.

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of age of laying hens and grade of shell abnormality on internal egg quality. At each week, 1,000 eggs were randomly selected from 21,000 eggs laid by Hy-Line hens (100,000 birds) aged from 56 to 62 wk. The samples were divided into normal and externally abnormal eggs by an official egg grader. Then, egg quality including egg weight, egg white height, Haugh unit and yolk color was evaluated from each normal and abnormal eggs. The production rate of externally normal and abnormal eggs was 81.22 and 18.78%, respectively. No difference found in the production rate by the increase of hen's age, but Haugh unit of eggs from hens of 60-wk-old was higher (p less than 0.05) than that of 56-wk-old. When the same age groups were compared, egg white height and Haugh unit were lower in eggs which were externally abnormal. When the grade of abnormality increased, egg white height and Haugh unit were decreased further (p less than 0.05). Among the externally abnormal eggs, malformation showed the lowest Haugh unit. In conclusion, the shell abnormality of eggs laid by hens aged 56 to 62 wk was closely related with internal egg quality. Therefore, the grading external egg quality in the present egg grading system is directly related with the internal egg freshness.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of age of laying hens on egg internal and external qualities. A total of 8,300 eggs were randomly collected from 15 grading & packaging (GP) centers, and 50 eggs per farm during April to May in 2015. Age of laying hens ranged from 18 to 65 weeks of age and they were classified into 5 age groups (18~25, 26~35, 36~45, 46~55, and 56~65 weeks). Egg weight increased, but the Haugh unit decreased as the age of laying hens increased. Yolk color was higher in eggs laid from 25∼35 weeks of laying hens compared with that of 18∼25-weeks-old chickens. The incidence of dirty eggs was highest (P less than 0.05) in 18∼25 week group and remained constant after 26 weeks. Among eggshell defects, speckled and pimpled eggs increased as the age of laying hens increased. The incidence of calcium deposits and misshapen eggs was highest during 18∼25 weeks of age and remained constant after 26 weeks. The percentage of total eggshell cracks increased as the age of laying hens increased. Among eggshell cracks, star- and hair-like cracks were frequently noted. The percentage of meat spot was higher than that of blood spot and their incidence was highest among the 56~65 week group. Age of laying hens significantly increased egg weight, incidence of pimpled or speckled eggs, star- or hair-like cracks, and meat spot. On the other hand, a significant negative interaction between age of laying hens and the Haugh unit was noted. In conclusion, our study revealed that the age of laying hens affected internal and external egg qualities.

The milk yield of 24 934 cows from herds monitored by the National Animal Breeding Center, Branch in Olsztyn, was analyzed. The data were collected in the years 1997-2006. The cows were divided into three groups, based on herd size: group I of up to 20 cows, group II of 21-50 cows and group III of more than 50 cows. Additional criteria for the above division were the number of successive 305-day lactations and full lactations as well as the length of inter-calving intervals. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of herd size on the yield and proximate composition of milk in active cattle populations in farms in north-eastern Poland over a ten-year period, taking into account lactations of normal length and full lactations, inter-calving interval (ICI) duration and lifetime cow productivity. The average yield over 305-day lactations was 6579 kg milk (6723 kg FCM), 273 kg fat (4.15%), 213 kg protein (3.24%), 309 kg lactose (4.70%) and 841 kg dry matter (12.78%). Cows in the largest herds (> 50 head) were characterized by the highest productivity, and cows in the smallest herds (≤ 20 head) - by the lowest. The latter produced milk with the highest fat content (4.16%) and the lowest protein content (3.21%). In herds comprising more than 50 animals, cows with the longest ICI (> 525 days) were marked by the highest milk production in full lactations (11 010 kg). As regards lifetime productivity, the highest values were noted in cows used for 3.44 years in the smallest herds (19 809 kg milk). In the largest herds cows were used for the shortest period of time (3.31 years), and their lifetime productivity reached 17 185 kg milk. | Do analizy posłużyły wyniki oceny użytkowości mlecznej 24 934 krów pochodzących ze stad kontrolowanych przez KCHZ oddział w Olsztynie w latach 1997-2006. Materiał badawczy podzielono na 3 grupy, uwzględniając wielkość stad: w I grupie (gr. I) było do 20 krów, w II (gr. II): 21-50, w III (gr. III) - ponad 50 krów. Dodatkowymi kryteriami podziału były: kolejne 305-dniowe i pełne laktacje oraz długość okresów międzywycieleniowych. Celem pracy była analiza wpływu wielkości stada na wydajność i podstawowy skład mleka populacji aktywnej krów utrzymywanych w gospodarstwach północno-wschodniej Polski w okresie dziesięciolecia, z uwzględnieniem laktacji standardowych i pełnych, długości okresów międzywycieleniowych (OMW) i wydajności życiowej krów. W badaniach wykazano, że przeciętna wydajność krów w laktacjach 305-dniowych wynosiła: 6579 kg mleka (6723 kg mleka FCM), 273 kg tłuszczu (4,15%), 213 kg białka (3,24%), 309 kg laktozy (4,70%) i 841 kg suchej masy (12,78%). Największa produkcyjność charakteryzowała krowy użytkowane w stadach najliczniejszych (> 50 szt.), a najmniejsza była u zwierząt ze stad najmniej licznych (≤ 20 szt.), dających mleko o największej zawartości tłuszczu (4,16%), ale najmniejszej zawartości białka (3,21%). W stadach o liczebności ponad 50 sztuk krowy o najdłuższym OMW (> 525 dni) osiągały największą produkcję mleka za laktacje pełne (11 010 kg). Pod względem wydajności życiowej najbardziej efektywne były krowy użytkowane przez 3,44 lata w stadach najmniejszych (19 809 kg mleka). W stadach największych krowy użytkowane były najkrócej (3,31 lat), a ich życiowa wydajność wyniosła 17 185 kg mleka. Translated by Aleksandra Poprawska

The objective of the study was to compare calving ease, pelvic structure and pelvic angle in 74 Holstein-Friesian and 45 Jersey heifers. The frequency of difficult calving was 15.2% in Holstein-Friesians, and only 2.2% in Jersey heifers. Compared with Jersey cows, Holstein-Friesians were characterized by a higher calf weight to cow weight ratio, and higher ratios of pelvic area to cow weight and pelvic area to calf weight. The results of the study show that higher frequency of difficult calving recorded in Holstein-Friesians, in comparison with Jersey heifers, could be a consequence of relatively high calf weight and less preferable pelvic structure. Large variation in the internal dimensions of the pelvic heifers HF encouraged reducing the occurrence of dystocia through selection of the dimensions of the pelvis.

This study was conducted to compare the cattle and beef traceability systems between Korea and Australia. The Beef Traceability System in Korea has started from December 2008 as a mandatory system. Korean system adopted an animal identification number consisting of 12 digit numbers fitted for a bar-code system. The system also adopted DNA identity inspection scheme on breeding step, slaughtering step, processing step, and selling step. However, our system does not have National Vendor Declaration(NVD), Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) system and uniform barcording system for meat products. On the other hand, Australia has performed the traceability system since 2004 after the pilot program which was first introduced to Victoria in 1999. Australian Beef Traceability System has been operated by RFID, NVD and uniform barcoding system. RFID devices applied prior to calves leaving the property on which they were born. These RFID devices can be either ear tags or rumen bolus/ear tag combinations. NVD system has been introduced to document the history of chemical use and treatment of animals. From Australian beef traceability experiences, introducing NVD, RFID and uniform barcoding system in korea is important to extend a health-related record and save trace-back time. This paper suggests that introducing NVD, RFID and uniform barcoding system can provide information efficiently for the meat industry supply chain and maximize consumers' satisfaction.