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BUFFALO MEAT QUALITY, PROCESSING, AND MARKETING:
HARNESSING ITS BENEFITS AND NUTRACEUTICAL POTENTIAL
Calidad, procesamiento y comercialización de la carne de búfalo:
aprovechando sus benecios y potencial nutracéutico
Sebastiana Failla
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Research Centre for Animal Production and
Aquaculture, Monterotondo, Rome, Italy.
Corresponding e-mail: Failla, Sebastiana (sebastiana.failla@crea.gov.it)
ABSTRACT
Bualo meat production is growing in dierent countries also
because bualo products exhibit some positive characteristics
for human health compared to red meats from other species.
However, meat quality is also dened by organoleptic aspects.
This review aims to highlight the distinctive characteristics of
bualo meat. The principal problems of bualo meat production
are related to the low yield and an abundant layer of subcuta-
neous fat deposition when the animal is older than 14 months.
This last trait, which may seem negative, allows us to carry out
prolonged aging time (PAT) without compromising the shelf life
and improving meat tenderness, one of the organoleptic char-
acteristic’s consumers desires. Another organoleptic character-
istic that guides consumer choice is color. This trait depends
mainly on the amount and state of myoglobin, a species-spe-
cic sarcoplasmic heme protein, and bualo presents a dier-
ent molecule than beef. Furthermore, this bright red molecule
in the oxidized state transforms into metmyoglobin or deoxy
myoglobin in the absence of oxygen, giving a dark color to the
meat, which consumers associate with poor quality from old
animals. The presence or absence of oxygen shows advantag-
es and disadvantages by acting on the one hand, on the bright
meat color and, on the other, on the oxidation of lipids. The best
compromise between the two situations is given by skin pack-
aging, which preserves the meat in an anaerobic environment.
Keeping the high nutritional quality over time is imperative to
maintain the numerous nutritional properties of bualo meat. In
this regard, bualo meat presents numerous distinctive charac-
teristics among the dierent groups of fatty acids. Among the
saturated one, the abundance of odd and branched fatty acids
compared to the bovine breed should be highlighted; for the
unsaturated ones, this meat is characterized by the abundance
of biohydrogenation products by rumen bacteria such as trans
vaccenic and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), best known for its
anti-carcinogenic properties. In comparison, the endogenous
pathway of fatty acid formation through the liver or adipose tis-
sue allows us to enhance the elongation capacity of polyun-
saturated n3 fatty acids, vital for human health as precursors
of anti-inammatory prostaglandins. Finally, bualo meat is an
essential source of N-acetylneuraminic sialic acid (Neu5Ac),
a nine-carbon molecule located in the terminal ends of glyco-
proteins and glycolipids, an essential nutrient for brain devel-
opment and function. This molecule can also counteract the
intestinal absorption of N-glycolyl sialic acid (Neu5Gc) exoge-
nous for humans, abundant in red meat, with high inammato-
ry action. In addition to being marketed as fresh meat, Bualo
meat can also be transformed into semi-processed or cured
products with peculiar characteristics. Lean products could be
well integrated into the modern diet, with clear advantages to
consumers and breeders. The nutritional and technological po-
tential of bualo meat is considerable, and it is necessary to
communicate this to the consumer, creating an ecient and
dynamic market for bualo meat-based products.
Keywords: bualo meat, dry aging, oxymyoglobin, nutraceuti-
cal compounds, fatty acids.
RESUMEN
La producción de carne de búfalo está creciendo en diferentes
países también porque los productos de búfalo presentan al-
gunas características positivas para la salud humana en com-
paración con las carnes rojas de otras especies. Sin embar-
go, la calidad de la carne también viene denida por aspectos
organolépticos. Esta revisión tiene como objetivo resaltar las
características distintivas de la carne de búfalo. Los principales
problemas de la producción de carne de búfalo están relacio-
nados con el bajo rendimiento y una abundante capa de grasa
subcutánea cuando el animal tiene más de 14 meses. Este últi-
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mo rasgo, que puede parecer negativo, nos permite realizar un
tiempo de envejecimiento prolongado (PAT) sin comprometer
la vida útil y mejorando la terneza de la carne, una de las carac-
terísticas organolépticas que desea el consumidor. Otra carac-
terística organoléptica que orienta la elección del consumidor
es el color. Este rasgo depende principalmente de la cantidad
y el estado de la mioglobina, una proteína hemo sarcoplásmica
especíca de cada especie, y el búfalo presenta una molécula
diferente a la de la carne de res. Además, esta molécula de
color rojo brillante en estado oxidado se transforma en metmio-
globina o desoximioglobina en ausencia de oxígeno, dando un
color oscuro a la carne, que los consumidores asocian con la
mala calidad de los animales viejos. La presencia o ausencia
de oxígeno presenta ventajas e inconvenientes al actuar, por
un lado, sobre el color brillante de la carne y, por otro, sobre la
oxidación de los lípidos. El mejor compromiso entre ambas si-
tuaciones lo proporciona el envasado tipo “skin”, que conserva
la carne en un ambiente anaeróbico. Mantener la alta calidad
nutricional en el tiempo es imperativo para mantener las nume-
rosas propiedades nutricionales de la carne de búfalo. En este
sentido, la carne de búfalo presenta numerosas características
distintivas entre los distintos grupos de ácidos grasos. Entre
los saturados cabe destacar la abundancia de ácidos grasos
impares y ramicados respecto a los vacunos; para las insatu-
radas, esta carne se caracteriza por la abundancia de produc-
tos de biohidrogenación por bacterias ruminales como el trans
vaccénico y el ácido linoleico conjugado (CLA), más conocido
por sus propiedades anticancerígenas. En comparación, la vía
endógena de formación de ácidos grasos a través del hígado
o el tejido adiposo nos permite potenciar la capacidad de elon-
gación de los ácidos grasos poliinsaturados n3, vitales para la
salud humana como precursores de las prostaglandinas an-
tiinamatorias. Finalmente, la carne de búfalo es una fuente
esencial de ácido siálico N-acetilneuramínico (Neu5Ac), una
molécula de nueve carbonos ubicada en los extremos termi-
nales de las glicoproteínas y glicolípidos, un nutriente esencial
para el desarrollo y la función del cerebro. Esta molécula tam-
bién puede contrarrestar la absorción intestinal del ácido N-gli-
colil siálico (Neu5Gc) exógeno al ser humano, abundante en
las carnes rojas, con elevada acción inamatoria. Además de
comercializarse como carne fresca, la carne de búfalo también
puede transformarse en productos semielaborados o curados
con características peculiares. Los productos magros podrían
integrarse bien en la dieta moderna, con claras ventajas para
los consumidores y los criadores. El potencial nutricional y tec-
nológico de la carne de búfalo es considerable y es necesario
comunicarlo al consumidor, creando un mercado eciente y di-
námico para los productos a base de carne de búfalo.
Palabras clave: carne de búfalo, maduración en seco, oximio-
globina, compuestos nutracéuticos, ácidos
grasos.
INTRODUCTION
In the last decade, Bualo (Bubalus bubalis L.) meat has
reported an increase in population head livestock as in tonnes
of meat production. According to FAO Stat data1, the world buf-
falo population in 2021 was 203.940 million bualo head, about
more than 9.860 million head compared to 2010. TABLE I
shows the bualo animals slaughtered in 2021 and the quantity
of meat produced. On average, each bualo head produces
151kg of meat, which is low weight if we consider the slaughter
of adults. This data highlights that even in 2021, many male
calves are slaughtered very young. Furthermore, only around
14% of the world’s bualo population is slaughtered, and most
of these are spent animals.
These data highlight consumer disaection for this type
of product, even though it is clear that bualo meat has positive
characteristics for human health. However, improving knowl-
edge on meat quality and meat processing of bualoes is slow-
ly bringing about a consumption positive trend because bualo
meat could represent a considerable economic and nutritional
source [2]. The principal problems of bualo meat production
are related to the low yield and an abundant layer of subcuta-
neous fat deposition when the animal is older than 14 months.
The dierent breeds, age, breeding, and pre-and
post-slaughter technologies result in great variability in carcass
and meat characteristics, leading to poor quantitative and qual-
itative performances [2, 3]. Meat quality is dened by dierent
parameters concerning carcass, organoleptic, and nutritional
characteristics of meat. For increasingly health-conscious con-
sumers, the last two aspects cannot be separated to satisfy
their needs.
ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITY OF BUFFALO MEAT
Color and tenderness are the principal organoleptic
characteristics because they direct consumers’ choices during
buying and eating [4]. Both characteristics depend on pre- and
post-mortem processes during slaughtering on meat aging and
enzymatic proteolysis [5]. At the same time, color is also linked
to oxidation processes that occur during aging but also retail
and domestic storage [6]. The color of meat depends mainly on
the amount and oxidation state of myoglobin (Mb), a sarcoplas-
mic protein with an iron molecule in the center surrounded by
a tetrapyrrole ring called heme. Meat color for each species is
typical because the chemistry of myoglobin is species-specic
[7].
The molecular mass of bualo Mb is 86.20 Da higher
than the bovine Mb. This is conrmed by analyzing its primary
structure. Comparing the amino acid sequences of both Mbs,
we found three amino acid dierences out of 153 amino acid
residues [7]; only one of these substitutions is made by a thre-
onyl amino acid that is a destabilizing β-branched residue.
These observations indicate that the structural architecture
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of the heme pockets in the two Mbs is similar, with the same
functional properties, but with dierent behavior during oxida-
tion, due also to higher myoglobin content in bualo meat as
reported by [8]. Even if the Mb quantity depends on age and
muscle type, the range is very high, from 2.70 to 9.40 mg/g [9].
Moreover, bualo meat is richer in iron (1.83 mg/100g) than
other species like beef and sheep (1.53 mg/100g on average).
The most immediate way to analyze meat color is given by the
CieLab system (TABLE II), which considers lightness (L*), red-
ness (a*), and yellowness (b*).
Bualo meat increases in lightness during aging, while it
decreases during oxidation. The old animals show dierent col-
ors, particularly for major concentrations in Mb (+ an index) and
intramuscular fat (+ b indexes), as found for grazing animals,
which have meat richer in pigments [10]. However, the bualo
cannot accumulate large percentages of carotenoids in the ad-
ipose tissue; in fact, this tends to be white even in the carcass
of adult animals [11].
In the function of heme oxidation, the myoglobin changes
in color; the bright red molecule in the oxidized state (oxymyo-
globin) transforms into metmyoglobin due to the oxidation of
iron from ferrous to ferric state or into deoxy myoglobin in the
absence of oxygen as in vacuum packaged meat, giving a dark
color to the meat and consumers associate it with poor quality
from old animals [16]. Dierent packaging technologies try to
solve this very pronounced problem in bualo meat due to the
excessive presence of iron [17]. Among the technologies that
improve the marketing and shelf life of bualo meat, the follow-
ing are highlighted: modied or protective atmosphere packag-
ing (MAP), whose atmosphere blown inside consists mainly of
80% oxygen (O2) and 20% carbon dioxide (CO2); vacuum pack-
aging and skin packaging, storage in the absence of oxygen
and edible lm. These types of packaging can be supported by
using absorbent pads and lms activated with antimicrobial and
antioxidant substances [18, 5]. The presence or absence of ox-
ygen shows advantages and disadvantages by acting on the
one hand on oxymyoglobin formation and the bright meat color
TABLE I
CONSISTENCY OF BUFFALO SLAUGHTERED AND TONNES OF MEAT PRODUCT IN 2021
2021 Bualo heads Bualo slaughtered heads Meat production
(tonnes per year)
Meat yields pro head
slaughtered
World 203,939,158 28,601,802 4,322,190.48 151.1
Asia 200,182,688 27,870,440 4,107,873.87 147.4
India 11,786,188 11,769,252 1,635,506.69 139.0
China 27,022,807 4,526,052 658,617.77 145.5
Africa 1,263,128 507,634 166,744.50 328.5
Americas 2,010,831 115,779 26,047.91 225.0
Europe 482,334 110,949 21,277.00 191.8
Italy 409,410 107,949 20,691.24 191.6
Data: FAO [1]
TABLE II
COLOR (CIELAB PARAMETERS) OF MEAT BUFFALO IN
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS
Type Lightness L* Redness a* Yellowness b*
Musles [12]
LD 44.33b16.35b13.01b
GB 49.45a17.32ab 15.82a
CLOTB 46.04b18.11a15.02a
Aging period* [13]
24 hours 36.5c17.12a13.27
48 hours 39.0b16.54ab 13.34
168 hours 42.9a16.10b13.91
Aging period*[14]
7 days 44.65 20.22a8.21b
21 days 44.13 19.74b8.04b
35 days 44.61 19.43b10.53a
Storage time*[12]
15 days 45.53a18.98b13.98a
90 days 42.99ab 17.36c10.03c
180 days 41.12b20.03a11.69b
Age at slaughter*[15]
10 months 43.95a19.24b15.72
14 months 41.69b20.22b15.79
18 months 39.79c21.41a16.22
Feeding system*[10]
Mais silage 46.81a18.10b14.53a
Hay 42.46b19.65a12.60ab
Pasture 41.10b19.92a10.93b
LD=Longissimus dorsi; GB=Gluteos biceps; CLOTB=Caput longuum
tricipite brachii; *=LD. Dierent letters on column indicate signicant
dierences per p<0.05
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on the other on the oxidation of lipids. The best compromise
between the two situations is given by skin packaging, which
preserves the meat in an anaerobic environment, producing all
the positive eects of the vacuum. However, it does not allow
the dripping liquids from the meat, signicantly improving and
extending the shelf life [19].
Nonetheless, this technology is still costly and is used
for small portions of raw meat, grounded meat, or meat prepa-
rations, which could be purchased in retail. The main problem
of meat packaging, besides the need to enhance eciency in
terms of shelf life, is to lower the production cost and limit plas-
tic pollution. An answer to these problems could be given by
edible lm and coat using hydrocolloid and lipid components.
The bualo slaughter produces many residues, such as
skin, blood, bones, meat trimmings, and fatty tissues, which
represent a risk to the environment because they are often dis-
carded as waste without being used. These biowastes contain
biopolymers and other compounds such as proteins, polysac-
charides, and fat with good biological properties capable of pro-
ducing sustainable food packaging (both active lm or coating),
which could be edible, biodegradable, and act as carriers of
biobased active agents such as antimicrobials, antioxidants,
and health-promoting compounds. The dierence between
lms and coatings consists in their manufacture and applica-
tion. Edible lms are dried, preformed thin sheets, while edible
coatings are applied as a liquid of varying viscosity onto the
surface of muscle by spraying or dipping [20].
In addition to active and edible packaging, intelligent sys-
tems were tested on bualo meat based on sensors with bro-
mophenol blue sensitive to total volatile basic nitrogen released
from bualo meat during prolonged refrigerated storage [21].
However, preserving time for the high nutritional quality
of bualo meat is imperative in order not to lose the numerous
nutritional properties like antioxidant compounds such as Q10,
glutathione, vitamins, minerals such as iron, zinc, and seleni-
um, essential amino acids in particular branch amino acids and
polyunsaturated fatty acids.
If color is the rst parameter consumers use for buying
meat, tenderness is the rst attribute that consumers use to
evaluate the organoleptic quality during eating. Generally, the
bualo meat obtained from young animals is tender compared
to beef at the same age and breeding system. Meat tenderiza-
tion depends on various factors that occur mainly in the peri-
od around slaughter and are linked both to the animal and to
technological tenderization systems like variation in tempera-
ture/time of aging, electrical stimulation, dierent suspension
methods, and use of exogenous enzymes. These factors aect
the glycolytic and proteolytic enzymatic activity, acting on pH,
ability to retain liquids, and myobrillar degradation processes.
Therefore, meat tenderization is a delicate multifactorial pro-
cess during aging [22].
The eect of aging is time-dependent; some rst-quality
cuts, in particular loin, usually receive a prolonged aging time
(PAT), but in order to avoid rancidity and microbial proliferation,
various preservation techniques have been implemented. The
most common ones are classied into: “dry aging” and “wet
aging” [23].
Dry aging includes maturation in a controlled environ-
ment (+2°C of temperature and 78% of relative humidity) or
protected maturation with lms that ensure oxygen penetration
and the losses of liquids and allow an antimicrobial barrier [24].
This process can last for weeks or even months. The anatomi-
cal cuts for prolonged aging time must generally be signicant
and have an abundant subcutaneous fat layer to prevent liquid
loss and excessive oxygen penetration, blocking lipid oxidation.
At the same time, proteolysis continues due to the enzymatic
activity. Usually, bualo loin has an abundant adipose pannicu-
lus that is well suited to this process [25], ensuring tenderness,
avor, and formation of bioactive peptides. The chunk of meat
dries outside, making the “crust,” after a few weeks, starts the
ber contraction, preventing the deterioration of meat.
The crust will be removed before consumption, with con-
siderable product losses [26].
Among the wet aging processes, we have vacuum-packed
meat maturation, or meat maturation with marinate, improving
overall acceptability (TABLE III). The vacuum-packed meat
remains in contact with liquids, giving blood and metal taste,
but using calcium chloride marination (FIG. 1), the tenderness
TABLE III
SENSORY EVALUATION OF LONGISSIMUS THORACIS ET LUMBORUM OF BUFFALO DURING WET AGING [14]
Aging (Days) Odor Flavor Intensity Overall Tenderness Juiciness Overall Acceptability
06.12 ± 0.45 5.78 ± 0.60 6.25 ± 0.73f5.48 ± 0.61 5.42 ± 0.62c
7 6.08 ± 0.50 5.75 ± 0.53 6.66 ± 0.57e5.54 ± 0.59 5.44 ± 0.59c
14 6.05 ± 0.19 6.69 ± 0.56 6.97 ± 0.65d5.59 ± 0.81 5.50 ± 0.81c
21 6.00 ± 0.26 5.72 ± 0.72 7.32 ± 0.69c5.65 ± 0.73 5.67 ± 0.56b
28 5.97 ± 0.35 5.76 ± 0.51 7.47 ± 0.67b5.64 ± 0.83 5.69 ± 0.28b
35 5.99 ± 0.31 6.82 ± 0.42 7.86 ± 0.40a5.66 ± 0.52 5.79 ± 0.57a
Hedonic scale on 8-point, where 8 = excellent, while 1 = extremely bad. Dierent letters on column indicate signicant dierences per p<0.05.
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improves during aging time [27]. The avor can be improved
with the addition of brines and spices, which also show an anti-
bacterial and antioxidant function, catching iron and improving
color [23, 14].
NUTRITIONAL QUALITY
The proximate composition of bualo meat is not dier-
ent from little marbled bovine meat if we consider both species
have the same muscle, just as the percentage of collagen is
not dierent to beef at the same age and breeding conditions.
Bualo meat has a lower percentage of cholesterol than beef,
but this dierence is related to the bovine breed used in com-
parison; in fact, Di Stasio and Brugiapaglia [3] consider only
eight bibliographic sources report cholesterol values that range
from 32.20 to 123.79 mg/100g of bualo meat.
Fatty acids are most important to dene the nutritional
quality of meat because the quantity and the structure of fatty
acids impact human health. In this regard, bualo meat pres-
ents numerous distinctive characteristics in the dierent groups
of fatty acids (TABLE IV) if compared with other species fed
and bred similarly. Among the saturated ones, the abundance
of branched fatty acids compared to the bovine breed should
be highlighted because these fatty acids have a nutraceutical
function in the human diet [28]. For the monounsaturated ones,
this meat enhances its characteristics thanks to the abundance
of oleic acid and products of the biohydrogenation of rumen
bacteria such as trans vaccenic (18:1 trans 11), trans palmi-
toleic (16:1 trans 9), and so on. Also, some polyunsaturated
fatty acids come from the rumen activity as conjugated linoleic
acids (CLA), best known for their anti-carcinogenic properties
[29], are signicantly more abundant in bualo than beef and
yak [30].
The endogenous pathway of fatty acid formation through
the liver or adipose tissue allows us to enhance the elonga-
tion capacity of polyunsaturated n3 fatty acids, vital for human
health as precursors of anti-inammatory prostaglandins. Also,
if the composition of n6 and n3 fatty acids is principally diet-de-
pendent, the elongation capacity of PUFA is partly due to ge-
netic eects [31]. The inability of humans to produce linoleic
acid (C18:2n6) and linolenic acid (C18:3n3) means that their
presence in the diet is vital. Although many vegetables help
us overcome this deciency, we need animal products to get
long-chain n3 PUFAs such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA),
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and Docosapentaenoic acid
(DPA). These are precursors of lipoxins, prostaglandins, and
leukotrienes with anti-inammatory action and are abundantly
present in sh. If we consider DPA instead, with its numerous
FIGURE 1. SHEAR FORCE OF LONGISSIMUS THORACIS
ET LUMBORUM OF BUFFALO MARINATED WITH CaCl2
[27]
TABLE IV
FATTY ACID (% OF TOTAL FAME) ON LONGISSIMUS THORACIS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES
Bualo Beef Yak RMSE
∑ SFA 45.28a45.50a42.15b3.27
∑MUFA 40.23 41.64 40.12 3.58
∑PUFA 14.49b12.87c17.73a1.42
∑CLA 0.71a0.53b0.64ab 0.11
BCFA 1.25a1.04b1.17ab 0.18
MUFA trans 1.35a1.37a0.85b0.36
∑ PUFA n6 12.10b11.07c13.91a0.99
∑ PUFA n3 2.39b1.80c3.82a0.57
∑ UFA/∑SFA 1.21 1.20 1.37 0.32
∑n6/∑n3 5.06ab 6.14a3.64b1.50
FAME = fatty acid methyl ester; SFA=saturated fatty acids; MUFA=monounsaturated fatty acids; PUFA=polyunsaturated fatty acids; UFA= unsaturated
fatty acids. Dierent letters on row indicate signicant dierences per p<0.05
Data: CREA not published
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metabolic functions that inuence the decrease in serum adi-
ponectin and hepatic lipogenesis [32], this is highly present in
meat (TABLE V).
Bualo meat DPA showed an intermediate content if
compared with beef and yak. Recently, numerous studies have
highlighted the capability of DPA to be converted into EPA and
DHA as needed and, therefore, can be considered a source
of long-chain n3 storage thanks to its remarkable ability to re-
sist oxidation. Furthermore, if we feed the bualoes with a diet
based on grass or added axseeds and algae, we can enrich
the products of animal origin with DPA and functional elements
for humans.
Finally, bualo meat is an essential source of N-acetyl-
neuraminic sialic acid (Neu5Ac), a nine-carbon molecule lo-
cated in the terminal ends of glycoproteins and glycolipids, an
essential nutrient for brain development and function [33]. This
molecule can counteract the intestinal absorption of N-glico-
lilneuramic acid (Neu5Gc) exogenous sialic acid for humans,
which is abundant in red meat, and it has high inammatory
action, also considered one of the leading causes of colon can-
cer. As reported in Kawanishi [34], a dietary intake of Neu5Ac
ve times higher than Neu5Gc was sucient to eliminate the
incorporation of Sialic acids (Sia) foreign forms in human cell
membranes.
In this case, to reduce the inammation caused by ex-
ogenous Sias, reducing red meat consumption would not be
necessary, but increasing consumption of animal products with
a higher quantity of Neu5Ac, as bualo meat showed Neu5Ac
6.2 times greater than Neu5Gc. The sialic acid in bualo meat
can provide functional molecules and block the absorption of
exogenous sialic acid that harms humans.
To avoid inammation potentially caused by meat,
switching to a vegetarian diet is inconsistent because it lacks
iron, vitamin B12, essential amino acids, and long-chain es-
sential fatty acids. A promising alternative is an increase in the
weekly consumption of meat with higher amounts of Neu5Ac,
which can prevent the accumulation of exogenous sialic acid in
human cells.
SEMI-PROCESSED AND CURED PRODUCTS:
A BRIEF REVIEW
In addition to being marketed as fresh meat suitably
packaged to extend its shelf life, Bualo meat can also be
transformed into semi-processed products or various cured
products [35, 36].
An exciting review was published by Maheswarappa [37]
where grounded or emulsion bualo meat products were list-
ed: patties, sausages, burgers, restructured meat dierently
[38] also using sodium alginate and carrageenan [39], enrobed
meat. Natural emulsiers, conservatives, and polyphenols were
used in these products to extend the shelf life and consumer
TABLE V
LONG CHAIN PUFA N3 FATTY ACIDS (% OF TOTAL FAME)
ON LONGISSIMUS THORACIS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES
Bualo Beef Yak RMSE
C20:5n3 EPA 0.347b0.304b0.814a0.301
C22:5n3 DPA 0.942b0.557c1.425a0.323
C22:6n3 DHA 0.097 0.087 0.117 0.081
Dierent letters on row indicate signicant dierences per p<0.05.
Data: CREA not published
TABLE VI
CONTENT IN NEU5GC AND NEU5AC ON LONGISSIMUS
THORACIS OF DIFFERENT SPECIES [33]
Species Neu5Gc
µg/g protein
Neu5Ac
µg/g protein
Neu5Ac/
Neu5Gc
Beef 228.3a432.5b1.8b
Bualo 82.7c512.6a6.2a
Yak 145.7b508.5a3.5b
RMSE 51.4 103.5 2.3
Dierent letters on column indicate signicant dierences per p<0.05
acceptability [40]. Shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, spiced pickle-type
bualo meat was also produced [41].
The addition of fat to these products brings an improve-
ment in juiciness and palatability. Of all the fats, pork appears
to respond better to the technological transformations of bualo
meat.
Bualo meat can also be used for numerous prepara-
tions involved in the drying and salting processes. These cured
products can be obtained with whole cuts of meat and derived
from ground meat supplemented with pork fat. By way of exam-
ple, we report some processed products obtained in Italy with
bualo meat:
Bresaola
Bresaola of bualo meat, like beef meat GPI product
(EEC 1263/96), a typical product of Valtellina (north Italy), is
produced by salting and curing dierent cuts of hindquarters. A
strict trimming process is essential to give a unique avor.
Legs of beef are defatted and seasoned with a dry rub
of salt and spices, such as juniper berries, cinnamon, and nut-
meg. They are then left to cure for a few days. The drying pe-
riod is between one and three months. The meat loses up to
40% of its original weight during aging.
Carne salada
Carne salada is obtained with the topside of adult ani-
mals. The cuts, cleaned of all fat and tendinous parts, are sprin-
kled with a mixture of salt and other ingredients and placed in a
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container where they will remain from 2 to 5 weeks, depending
on the size of the individual pieces. During the entire matura-
tion period, the carne salada must be kept in a dark room at a
maximum temperature of +12 °C and massaged at least every
2/3 days.
Slacci
Slacci is a typical product of the Veneto region, usually
obtained with horse meat, but bualo meat also has excellent
qualitative performances. The strips of accid meat are pre-
pared with very lean meat cut into thin slices along the ber. It is
put in brine for about 15 days, seasoned for about one month,
and nally beaten. The meat bers separate, forming dry la-
ments of a deep red color.
CONCLUSION
Bualo meat has valuable organoleptic and nutritional
characteristics. Scientic information must be disseminated,
informing consumers that this product is lean and could be in-
tegrated into the modern diet, with obvious health advantages.
The nutritional and technological potentiality of bualo
meat is considerable; it is necessary to create an ecient and
dynamic market for both fresh and cured products, bringing ad-
vantages to breeders who are in this way encouraged to sup-
port and spread a meat production chain just as the production
of mozzarella and dairy products has spread in many countries.
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