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The purpose of this article is to provide information on the history, accomplishments, and future direction of the Bt brinjal (eggplant) program in Bangladesh, formerly under the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II, now the South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership (SAEIP). The India-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) developed an eggplant expressing Cry1Ac (EE-1) for control of the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). In a partnership among Mahyco, USAID, Sathguru Management Consultants and Cornell University EE-1 was provided to the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) who bred it into local varieties. After regulatory approval, four varieties were distributed to 20 farmers who harvested Bt brinjal in 2014. Adoption in subsequent years has increased rapidly so that, in 2018, 27,012 farmers used this technology. This article provides background information on the process leading up to current adoption levels, the level of control of EFSB achieved and the economic benefits of Bt brinjal. Efforts on stewardship, farmer training and communication are discussed. In order to ensure the long-term future of the partnership, we discuss the need to enhance involvement of the private sector in the production and stewardship of Bt eggplant. Bt brinjal is the first genetically engineered crop to be commercially released in Bangladesh, and other GE crops are in the pipeline. Hence, success of the Bt brinjal partnership is likely to affect the future of other GE crops in Bangladesh, as well as other parts of the world where biotechnology is needed for food security and environmental safety.

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The objectives of this study were to know the effect of repeated freeze-thaw cycles of beef on the sensory, physicochemical quality and microbiological assessment. The effects of three successive freeze-thaw cycles on beef forelimb were investigated comparing with unfrozen fresh beef for 75 d by keeping at −20±1℃. The freeze-thaw cycles were subjected to three thawing methods and carried out to know the best one. As the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased color and odor declined significantly before cook within the cycles and tenderness, overall acceptability also declined among the cycles after cook by thawing methods. The thawing loss increased and dripping loss decreased significantly (p<0.05). Water holding capacity (WHC) increased (p<0.05) until two cycles and then decreased. Cooking loss increased in cycle 1 and 3, but decreased in cycle 2. pH decreased significantly (p<0.05) among the cycles. Moreover, drip loss, cooking loss and WHC were affected (p<0.05) by thawing methods within the cycles. 2-Thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) value increased (p<0.05) gradually within the cycles and among the cycles by thawing methods. Total viable bacteria, total coliform and total yeast-mould count decreased significantly (p<0.05) within and among the cycles in comparison to the initial count in repeated freeze-thaw cycles. As a result, repeated freeze-thaw cycles affected the sensory, physicochemical and microbiological qua- lity of beef, causing the deterioration of beef quality, but improved the microbiological quality. Although repeated freeze-thaw cycles did not affect much on beef quality and safety but it may be concluded that repeated freeze and thaw should be minimized in terms of beef color for commercial value and WHC and tenderness/juiciness for eating quality.

Improved fish burger was developed from pangus fish (Pangasius sutchi) by using different kinds of food additives (25% mashed potato, 2% NaCl, 2% oil, 2% spices such as onion, ginger, garlic, green chili, hot spices and 0.6% sugar). Proximate composition and sensory, chemical and microbiological changes of pangus fish burger were determined to evaluate the shelf life and storage stability kept at room (28ºC) and refrigeration (5ºC) temperature. It was observed that, the moisture, pH and protein contents in pangus burger were decreased than that of fish mince. On the other hand, lipid and ash contents were higher. Among the variable levels of mashed potato level, 25% mashed potato level showed the best sensory performance and was recommended for the commercial production. At room temperature, the sensory attributes deceased significantly (P<0.05) throughout the storage period. On the other hand, at refrigerated temperature (5°C) the product was more stable. The TVB-N value increased progressively throughout the storage period (P<0.05) at both room (28°C) and refrigerated (5°C) temperature. The microbial load was also increased significantly (P<0.05) at both temperatures but the growth pattern was slower at refrigeration temperature. After considering all the results, it was concluded that, the shelf life of pangus fish burger was very short, in fact not more than 24 hours at 28ºC. On the other hand at 5ºC pangus fish burger may remain in good condition up to 72 hours.