INNOVATIVE WAYS TO DETECT COUNTERFEITING OF MEAT PRODUCTS / L. Floka

Ukraine is undergoing reforms to adapt the legal regime on food safety and quality to full compliance with international law. One of the indicators of the country's food security is the production of sufficient quality and safe meat for slaughter animals, which will provide the diet of each consumer with complete proteins of animal origin.
Criteria for assessing safety and quality are regulated by regulations that determine the quality of meat of slaughter animals in processing plants, wholesale bases, agri-food markets, and supermarkets, given the safety and quality of meat of animal origin, which are specific to certain species.
An important prerequisite for the rational use of livestock products, including meat, should be considered scientifically sound veterinary and sanitary assessment of it, especially in various animal diseases.
On the territory of Ukraine, animal and plant products can be sold only after the inspection in certified veterinary and sanitary laboratories and after the issuance of an expert opinion. The sale of products on natural markets is prohibited and illegal.
The urgency of the issue is that, unfortunately, today the falsification of slaughter meat is very common. Qualitative falsification of meat - replacement of quality meat with low-quality meat with defects such as mucus, rot, mold, as well as the freezing of meat with signs of spoilage, the substitution of meat (beef - horse, rabbit - cat), the implementation of m 'meat of old, emaciated and exhausted animals, the meat of animals that died from accidental circumstances, driven animals or endured stress, meat that is saturated with water or blood.
Quantitative falsification - is determined by weighing the goods.
Information falsification of meat is a deception of the consumer with false or distorted information about the product, manufacturer, country of origin, date of production of meat, its composition by distorting information in the accompanying documents, branding, advertising, forgery of the certificate of conformity, customs documents or barcode. Therefore, many scientists are currently working on new rapid methods to detect counterfeits and counterfeits [1].
Due to its high commercial value, meat has attracted the attention of counterfeiters for centuries. Consumer protection, fraud detection, and religious observance are contributing to the development of modern methods of detecting meat counterfeiting.
Unfortunately, today, the falsification of meat is very common. Meat is falsified by modernized synthetic substances, which at present cannot be correctly identified.
Most of the falsifications are related to masking substandard meat for profit. Very often, one type of meat is given out for another. Defects and falsifications can be detected by various physicochemical reactions [4].
The influence of environmental factors (product composition and storage conditions) on the selection, growth rate, and metabolic activity of the bacterial flora is presented for meat (pork and beef) and cooked, dried meat products [2].
Preferred bacteria associated with spoilage of chilled meat are Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Pseudomonas spp. And Shewanella putrefaciens. The main defects of meat are unpleasant odors, but there is also discoloration and gas formation. Bacteria are associated with spoilage of chilled meat products, which cause defects such as sour taste, discoloration, flatulence, mucus formation, and lowering of pH, consisting of B. thermosphacta, Carnobacterium spp, Lactobacillus spp, Leuconostoc spp., Weissella spp.
The analysis of damage measured on bacterial and chemical indicators is discussed. It is concluded that a multifactorial approach based on the spectra of chemical compounds may be useful for the analysis of spoilage, at least for spoilage caused by lactic acid bacteria. The effects of bacterial interactions should be better assessed [5].
There is a system for monitoring meat freshness and shelf life based on the intelligent RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag. Freshness can be checked by various factors, such as the presence of microorganisms, bacteria, and gases. These data focus on the detection of temperature, humidity, and gases emitted by meat. They analyzed the factors that affect the freshness of the meat and decided to use a gas sensor as the main method of detection. They used a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor as auxiliary sensors to obtain the food poisoning index. Li-sheng Jin and co-authors proposed a system for controlling the freshness of meat and its shelf life based on an intelligent RFID tag (radio frequency identification). Freshness can be checked for various factors, such as the presence of microorganisms, bacteria, and gases. The factors that influence the freshness of meat, and decided to use a gas sensor as the main method of detection. They used a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor as auxiliary sensors to obtain the food poisoning index. The proposed system consists of an RFID tag, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a gas sensor, a reader, and a server. Comparing the temperature, humidity, and concentration of gases during the storage of meat, they get the relationship between the freshness of the meat and the sensor signal. This monitoring system can display the freshness of the meat in four different versions: high, medium, low, and spoilage [3].
Counterfeiting of meat products, caused by the temptation of economic gain for different types of meat, has always been a major global problem. There is a need for a reliable and convenient method for determining the types of meat in the food.
Scientists have identified criteria for assessing the quality and safety of meat from slaughter animals. To express the degree of freshness of fat (peroxide and acid numbers) performed a qualitative reaction using Nessler's solution.
One of the expert methods of detecting falsification of meat of slaughter animals and poultry using chlorine solution.
Natural, raw materials and labor resources are irrationally used in the state to counterfeit goods, as raw materials, fuel, and energy resources, natural materials, and human labor are also used to produce low-quality products. Therefore, today it is necessary to more precisely regulate the detection of counterfeiting and to impose more severe fines, to develop new methods of detecting counterfeiting. The state should encourage enterprises to produce quality and environmentally friendly products [6].

1. Ветеринарне правознавство України: Підручник. Яценко І.В., Кам’янський В.В., Бондаревський М.М., Бібен І.А., Богатко Н.М., Фотіна Г.А., Бінкевич В.Я., Зажарський В.В. Харків: РВВ ХДЗВА, 2015. – 392 с.
2. B.K. Barai, R.R. Nayak, R.S. Singhal, P.R. Kulkarni, Approaches to the detection of meat adulteration, Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 3, 1992, Pages 69-72.
3. Cоdex Alimentarius Cоmmissiоn (CAC). Risk Analysis Pоlicies оf the CAC (Alinоrm 01(09). In Repоn оf the 24th Sessiоn оf the CAC, Ycheva. Switzerland. 2– 7 Yule 2001. CAC. Rоme, Staly.
4. Isabel M.Perez de Vargas-Sansalvadorad. Smartphone based meat freshness detection. Talanta, Volume 216, 15 August 2020. Аccess mode: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340433217_Smartphone_based_meat_freshness_detection
5. J.I. Gray, E.A. Gomaa, D.J. Buckley, Oxidative quality and shelf life of meats, Meat Science, Volume 43, Supplement 1, 1996, Pages 111-123.
6. Zhongxiang Fang, Yanyun Zhao, Robyn D. Warner, Stuart K. Johnson, Active and intelligent packaging in meat industry. Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 61, 2017, Pages 60-71.