Maria Font-I-Furnols

Dry‐aged beef is valued for its distinctive flavor and tenderness, but the fungal communities associated with the product and its aging environments remain insufficiently characterized. This study characterized the culturable fungal community of dry‐ and wet‐aged beef from Albera and Bruna dels Pirineus cattle, as well as the aging chambers where the beef was produced, and assessed the proteolytic and lipolytic potential of the isolated fungi. Meat samples and chamber air were analyzed using culturomics and ITS sequencing. Among 291 fungal isolates, yeasts predominated in meat samples, with Candida , Yarrowia , and Debaryomyces as the main genera, whereas molds were more frequent in chamber samples, especially Penicillium and Cladosporium . Dry‐aged meat exhibited a higher diversity of fungal genera and species than wet‐aged meat, and some taxa detected in meat were also present in the corresponding aging environments, suggesting a possible environmental contribution. Enzymatic assays showed that many molds and yeasts displayed proteolytic and lipolytic activity, with Yarrowia spp. and Penicillium spp. showing notable activity. However, these assays were performed in vitro and should be interpreted as indicating enzymatic potential rather than direct activity in meat. Although potentially mycotoxigenic genera such as Aspergillus , Cladosporium , and Penicillium were detected, no mycotoxin analyses were performed. Accordingly, no conclusions can be drawn regarding toxin production, but their presence underscores the need for careful control of aging conditions. Overall, the study expands the current knowledge of culturable fungi associated with beef aging systems and provides a basis for future work on the technological and safety relevance of the identified isolates.

The use of less invasive technologies to determine the body composition of pigs during growth is important for nutritional, breeding and management purposes. Nowadays, technologies based on ultrasound, X-rays and nuclear magnetic resonance are available and can be used either directly on the farm for selection or strategy decisions, or in a laboratory for research purposes. This chapter describes the most common non-invasive technologies used to characterise body composition, addressing the aspects to consider for both the preparation of the animals and the acquisition and analysis of measurements. It also considers the differences between techniques and the information that can be obtained from each technique.

Knowledge of carcass quality parameters and composition is crucial to determining the value of the carcass and informing decisions regarding its processing. The use of non-destructive technologies for this purpose is essential to avoid the destruction of carcasses and cuts and to reduce waste. This can be achieved through linear measurements, either obtained manually or using semi−/fully automatic devices at the slaughter line. These devices need to be calibrated, and cutting and dissection are used as references for this purpose. This chapter aims to describe the most common carcass quality parameters for characterising carcass composition. Additionally, a list of different aspects that should be considered for device checking and carcass preparation before measuring is provided, as well as the types of measurements possible with each device.

The traditional Iberian pig production system in the dehesa ecosystem of southwestern Spain and Portugal represents a significant cultural and ecological model of extensive livestock farming currently facing sustainability challenges. This study aimed to identify eco-efficiency indicators by integrating economic and environmental dimensions across traditional Iberian pig farms. Structured surveys were conducted across 68 farms, complemented by life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impacts including climate change, acidification, eutrophication, energy demand and land occupation. Multivariate statistical analysis identified two distinct farm types: Mixed-orientation Farms (MF, 45.59% of farms), characterised by diversified production phases and greater reliance on external inputs, and Acorn-Fed Farms (AF, 54.41% of farms), specialised in acorn-based fattening with greater dehesa ecosystem integration. AF demonstrated significantly lower environmental impacts across all categories except land occupation, with reductions ranging from 9% to 18% compared to MF. Furthermore, AF achieved superior eco-efficiency with gross margins 15% higher than MF and economic returns per unit of environmental impact 32% to 59% higher across all indicators. These findings demonstrate that farrow-to-finish farms specialised in montanera systems can simultaneously achieve greater profitability and reduced environmental impacts, providing a replicable model for sustainable livestock production in Mediterranean agroecosystems.

Aim of study: To study the effect of feeding dried olive pulp (DOP) based diets during the growing period on carcass and meat quality traits of Duroc × Iberian pigs at slaughter weight, under different management conditions. Area of study: Extremadura, Spain. Material and methods: Two trials with 26 and 34 pigs, respectively, were conducted. In each trial, pigs were divided into two dietary groups: a control group (C) and a DOP group, fed a diet supplemented with 45% dried olive pulp (DOP_1 for Trial 1: 6.8 MJ/kg; and DOP_2 for Trial 2: 5.4 MJ/kg). When the pigs reached 100 kg of body weight (BW), five from each group and trial were slaughtered, while the rest continued on a standard fattening diet until they reached 160 kg BW. Main results: In both trials, growth during the growing stage, as well as total growth, was lower in the DOP groups. Carcass yield was lower in both DOP_1 and DOP_2 animals. In addition, DOP_2 barrows showed a decrease in backfat thickness and an increase in ham percentage. The intramuscular fat content was affected only in Trial 1, being lower in the muscles of DOP_1 pigs. Finally, pigs fed DOP diets presented a higher proportion of oleic and monounsaturated fatty acid in backfat. Research highlights: Feeding dry olive supplemented diets during the growing period did not have a relevant effect on carcass quality. The effectiveness of implementing such diets may be affected by factors such as the animal environment.

The traditional Iberian pig production system in the dehesa ecosystem of southwestern Spain and Portugal represents a significant cultural and ecological model of extensive livestock farming currently facing sustainability challenges. This study aimed to identify eco-efficiency indicators by integrating economic and environmental dimensions across traditional Iberian pig farms. Structured surveys were conducted across 68 farms, com-plemented by life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impacts including climate change, acidification, eutrophication, energy demand, and land occupation. Multivariate statistical analysis identified two distinct farm types: Mixed-orientation farms (MF, 45.59% of farms), characterised by diversified production phases and greater reliance on external inputs, and Acorn-Fed farms (AF, 54.41% of farms), specialised in acorn-based fattening with greater dehesa ecosystem integration. AF demonstrated sig-nificantly lower environmental impacts across all categories except land occupation, with reductions ranging from 9% to 18% compared to MF. Furthermore, AF achieved superior eco-efficiency with gross margins 15% higher than MF and economic returns per unit of environmental impact 32% to 59% higher across all indicators. These findings demonstrate that farrow-to-finish farms specialised in montanera systems can simulta-neously achieve greater profitability and reduced environmental impacts, providing a replicable model for sustainable livestock production in Mediterranean agroecosystems.