The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of fat on thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. A 4-strain cocktail of each microorganism was inoculated to beef tallow and heated isothermally at temperatures between 55 and 80℃. All survival curves did not follow the 1st-order inactivation kinetics but conformed to a two-stage linear pattern. The first stage was markedly less heat-resistant than the second, as manifested by significantly lower D values. The z values of E. coli O157 H7 and Salmonella spp. were 11.8 °C and 12.3 °C in the first stage (z1) but increased to 23.7 °C and 20.8 °C in the second stage (z2), respectively. For L. monocytogenes, while the z values were similar for both stages (z1 = 19.6 °C and z2 = 18.5 °C), the second stage D values are 3.6-5.9 times of those in the first stage. One-step analysis was used to fit the nonlinear curves to the Weibull model, yielding < 1 exponents for the model (0.495, 0.362, and 0.282, respectively, for L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp.), suggesting gradually increased thermal resistance during heating. The experimental results showed that these microorganisms could resist heating for longer time and at higher temperatures in tallow than they do in regular meats containing lower levels of fat. The kinetic models can be used to develop thermal processes to properly inactivate pathogens contaminated in the fat portions of meat products or other high fat products.

Inspired by the proved dissolving power of vegetable oils for non-polar and low-polar natural compounds, animal fats with triglycerides as the major components were investigated as food-grade solvents in this study for the simultaneous extraction of carotenoids and capsaicinoids from Sichuan chili. The dissolving power of lard, beef tallow, chicken fat and basa fish oil in the extraction of er jing tiao chili was firstly compared, where animal oils with worse extraction ratios for carotenoids (0.79 mg/g in average) performed better for the extraction of capsaicinoids (0.65 mg/g in average). Furthermore, the solvent effect of animal fats on the oleo-extracts was evaluated in terms of fatty acid composition, oil quality indexes, crystal polymorphism, melting and crystallization behaviors, where no significant differences were observed between animal fats before and after extraction. The oxidative stability of animal fats could be 1.02- up to 2.73-fold enhanced after extraction and the pungency degree could reach the same spicy level as commercial hotpot oil. In addition, the Hansen solubility parameters of solvents and solutes were predicted for further theoretical miscibility study, which helps to make a better comprehension of the dissolving mechanism behind such oleo-extraction. Overall, animal fats demonstrated their considerable solvent power for extracting carotenoids and capsaicinoids simultaneously from Sichuan chili, which showed significant potential for developing a novel Sichuan spicy hotpot oil with enhanced flavor and stability.

The potential of animal fats hydroconversion is experimentally investigated and validated in industrially relevant scale via the production of 100 L of transportation fuels. The experimental testing has indicated that mild hydrotreatment conditions are associated with low hydrogen consumption without significantly penalties in product quality. The optimal operating conditions (pressure of 6.89 MPa, H2/oil ratio of 84.95 Sm3 and LHSV of 1 hr-1) identified were also applied in the industrially relevant scale hydroprocessing pilot to validate the scale-up potential of the technology. The produced fuel is characterized by 5 wppm sulphur, 79.3 cetane index and 44.4 MJ/kg heating value, offering an advantage in compression ignition engines. The produced fuel can be blended up to 20% v/v with fossil diesel rendering a high bio-content diesel abiding by the EN 590 standard. It was found that, up to 20% per volume can be added in diesel without exceeding the requirements for CFPP standards for Greek winter diesel. Towards the commercialization of the technology with respect to the animal fats logistics, a dedicated 6-month storage stability study revealed that animal fats can be stored for up to three to four months at ambient conditions. The findings, indicate that the suggested technology is mature technology as applied successfully in the industrially-relevant-scale providing also the process data.

Evidence suggests that the relations between intakes of individual fatty acids and risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) vary. However, associations between intakes of different cooking oils as sources of fatty acids and incident T2D remain largely unknown.
We aimed to evaluate relations between intakes of individual cooking oils and incident T2D in a nationwide Chinese cohort.
Overall 15,022 Chinese adults aged ≥20 y from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) without self-reported T2D at entry in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, or 2009 rounds were followed up until 2011. Consumption of various cooking oils/fats including lard, peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, sesame oil, and refined blended plant oil was assessed using 3-d 24-h records in each survey and the cumulative mean intake was calculated. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to estimate the HRs of T2D.
A total of 1014 cases were recorded after a median follow-up of 14 y. The intakes of animal and plant cooking oils/fats were both associated with higher T2D risk. Compared with nonconsumers, multivariable-adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for the highest tertiles were 1.31 (1.03, 1.67) for lard, 1.36 (1.10, 1.66) for peanut oil, 1.14 (0.91, 1.43) for soybean oil, 1.11 (0.87, 1.43) for canola oil, 1.02 (0.79, 1.32) for sesame oil, and 1.42 (1.12, 1.82) for refined blended plant oil. Substituting 1 tablespoon/d (8 g · 2000 kcal-1 · d-1) of soybean oil for the sum of lard, peanut oil, refined blended plant oil, and other plant oils was associated with a 3% (HR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95, 0.99) lower risk of T2D.
Intakes of lard, peanut oil, and refined blended plant oil but not soybean oil, canola oil, and sesame oil are associated with higher T2D risk. Reducing the consumption of cooking oils in general may be protective against T2D among the Chinese population.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03259321.

The method of liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry was utilized and modified to confirm and quantify acrylamide in heating cooking oil and animal fat. Heating asparagine with various cooking oils and animal fat at 180°C produced varying amounts of acrylamide. The acrylamide in the different cooking oils and animal fat using a constant amount of asparagine was measured. Cooking oils were also examined for peroxide, anisidine and iodine values (or oxidation values). A direct correlation was observed between oxidation values and acrylamide formation in different cooking oils. Significantly less acrylamide was produced in saturated animal fat than in unsaturated cooking oil, with 366ng/g in lard and 211ng/g in ghee versus 2447ng/g in soy oil, followed by palm olein with 1442ng/g.

BACKGROUND: The cultural heritage of Sardinian shepherds is rapidly vanishing and survives in the memory of elderly people. The objective of our study was not only to report the usage of plants and their preparation for administration but also the use of other remedies of different origin arising from traditional ethno-veterinary knowledge, as Sardinian shepherds were used to employ plants, animals, minerals and combinations of several substances to prepare remedies for prophylaxis or therapy on their animals.
METHODS: The work was carried out in rural areas of the island of Sardinia (Italy) by interviewing shepherds and filling questionnaires in order to record ethno-veterinary practices traditionally used for animal health care.
RESULTS: Ethno-veterinary remedies traditionally utilised for treatments of small ruminants against ecto-and endo-parasites, gastrointestinal diseases, viral and bacterial diseases, wounds, sprains and bruises were identified. Non herbal remedies outnumbered the herbal ones, as usually plant species were mainly used for the care of cattle and equines. A total of 150 ethno-veterinary uses were documented for the treatment of 33 animal conditions, a detailed account of the formulations and their administration to sheep and goats was provided. Herbal remedies involved the use of twenty two spontaneous species and seven cultivated species.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies remedies used in ethno-veterinary practices for small ruminants care in Sardinia, the second major Mediterranean island which has agro-pastoral activities dating back to Neolithic. Moreover, the danger of losing oral traditions, and the increasing attention towards traditional remedies as potential sources of natural products for improving animal health and welfare, support the interest of our survey.

A new method based on the cholesterol level was developed to detect the presence of animal fats in virgin coconut oil (VCO). In this study, the sterols in VCO and animal fats was separated using conventional one-dimensional gas chromatography (1D GC) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC). Compared with 1D GC, the GC×GC system could obtain a complete baseline separation of the sterol trimethylsilyl ethers derived from cholesterol and cholestanol, so that the cholesterol content in pure VCO and false VCO adulterated with animal fats could be accurately determined. Cholesterol, a main sterol found in animal fats, represented less than 5mg/kg of VCO. The study demonstrated that the determination of the cholesterol level in VCO could be used for reliable detection of the presence of lard, chicken fat, mutton tallow, beef tallow, or their mixture in VCO at a level as little as 0.25%.