Protein quality and content of nitrite, nitrate and metals in commercial samples of organic and conventional cold meats.

Summary

Twenty-six organic and conventional samples of cold meats were analysed and compared with respect to: meat protein quality, nitrite, nitrate and metal content to verify if organic products have any health advantage that may be attractive to consumers.
Proteins quality was assessed by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D EF). Nitrite and nitrate content were measured by the Griess reaction. Metals were detected by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Electrophoretic data show differences in the quality of water-soluble proteins in uncooked products, in contrast to thermal treatment results, which revealed no differences between the organic and conventional products, although it is difficult to interpret these data.
Metal analyses show significantly higher levels of Fe, Zn, Ca, Se, and Cu in organic meat.
There was no significant difference detected in nitrite content, while nitrate was lower in organic compared to conventional salami. These results suggest that cooked organic meat products do not have any nutritional advantage over conventional ones, and that only seasoned products preserve the original quality of organic meat.