Abstract
The aim of the study was to compare the advancement of the ripening as well as catabolic changes in proteins and fats of Zlotnicka Spotted (ZS) and Zlotnicka White (ZW) meat and their impact on the quality and nutritional value of ready-to-eat products. The meat of the breeds ZS and ZW differed not only in the basic chemical composition but also in the susceptibility to catabolic transformations of proteins and lipids, which translated into a separate technological and nutritional quality as well as the profile of volatile odor compounds. Loins due to their compact histological structure, low pH (5.4) and decreased water activity (0.92–0.93) were characterized by a lower number of coagulase-negative cocci (3.3 log cfu/g) compared to hams. The products of both breeds differed in the content of selected neutral glucogenic amino acids with a pI in the range of 5.6–6.1 mainly. The content of biogenic amines was therefore completely dependent on the metabolic potential of acidifying bacteria. Larger number of lactic acid bacilli (7.5–7.7 log cfu/g) and lactic acid cocci (7.9–8.3 log cfu/g), as well as a higher content of saturated (55.2–53.7%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (6.4–7.0%) shaped the final pH of hams (5.3). Presence of aldehydes, ketones and alcohols indicated existing fat oxidation despite the small values of the TBA index of hams (1.1 mg/kg) and loins (0.4–0.6 mg/kg). The volatile compounds that differentiated products of ZS and ZW formed by the oxidation and microbial activity, were, primarily: octanal, 1-hydroxypropan- 2-one, 3-methylpentan-2-one, propane-1,2-diol, 2,5-dimethylfuran and 3-hydroxybutan- 2-one, butane-2,3-dione, butane-1,2-diol, respectively.