Rice bran oil (RBO) is a valuable ingredient extracted from rice bran (RB), a side stream of polishing rice grain in the milling process. RBO is rich in bioactive ingredients with potential health benefits, such as gamma-oryzanol (GO) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Despite its benefits, the quality of RBO depends on the degree of stabilisation of the RB, which is easily affected by lipase enzymes, and thus needs an effective treatment prior to RBO production. To assess the potential of the microwave-assisted method for RB stabilisation and RBO extraction, three Carolino rice varieties (Ariete, Teti, Luna) were tested. The effect of RB stabilisation was evaluated via acid value, water absorption, and GO and GABA levels. The RBO yield was optimised by solvent, temperature, and solvent-to-sample ratio, and the GO and fatty acid levels were determined. The RB stabilisation for the Luna variety did not affect the GO and GABA; for the Ariete and Teti varieties, the GO decreased by 34.4% and 24.2%, and the GABA increased by 26.5% and 47.0%, respectively. The GO levels in RBO samples were not affected by RB stabilisation. The RBO nutritional value was confirmed by the suitable ratio (>2) between polyunsaturated (PUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFA), with the Teti variety presenting the highest ratio.

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Castration of male piglets still is a common practice in most European countries, despite available evidence suggesting that castration at any age is painful (Gunn et al., 2004). Pork production stakeholders have declared to ban surgical castration by 2018 in the European Union (Morlein et al., 2015), but the progress of this declaration still ongoing, with efforts being made to reach this goal by 2024 (De Jonckheere & Nalon, 2018). Male piglets are castrated primarily to prevent the development of the objectionable sensory perceived odor or flavor of boar taint in meat (Fredriksen, Johnsen, & Skuterud, 2011;Gunn et al., 2004;Wauters et al., 2017). Boar taint is described as an unpleasant odor which becomes especially intense when pork is cooked (Mathur et al., 2012) and is mainly associated with the presence of skatole

This study, financed by EXTRASLICED45 project, promoted by Primor Charcutaria-Prima S.A. and focused on extra-sliced pork ham, aims to use different modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) as a preservation technique for extending the lifetime of the product. In this study, physical, chemical, microbiological and organoleptic properties of sliced pork ham, packaged in MA, were monitored during 45 days of storage at 5 ºC. Pork ham samples were packed in four different gas mixtures of 10, 30, 40 and 60% of CO2 (N2 for balancing), in thermoformed trays of APET/EVOH/PE film sealed with PE/PVDC. During the storage time the monitoring of the evolution of the gas mixture composition, pH, water activity (aw), moisture content, colour parameters and firmness of samples was performed. Searching for pathogenic (Salmonella spp., Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and coagulase-positive staphylococci), total viable counts at 30 ºC and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was performed. For sensory evaluation, a trained panel of 6 elements, conducted a quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA®). The previously defined attributes were: brightness, colour, aroma, overall appearance, flavour, texture (hardness and cohesiveness) and salty taste, using a 6-point scale. The panel was also asked about their perception related to the overall appearance and off-flavours defects. The results of instrumental analysis of texture and colour, and the chemical parameters showed no significant differences over the time of storage and between MAP. The results of analysed microbiological parameters were satisfactory (according to HPA) and no pathogenic were detected. The principal components analysis highlighted the existence of correlations between the studied parameters. The panel detected some differences between the short and long-term stored ham samples but those differences were no considered defects.