Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry

We present measurements of stable carbon, nitrogen and oxygen isotope ratio values in cow milk, forage and drinking water collected in Belarus. Milk, water and forage were sampled in Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions during summer and winter seasons. δ 13 C and δ 15 N values in dried milk samples ranged from –30.2 to – 20.0‰ and from +3.63 to +5.66‰, respectively. The lowest δ 13 C values were obtained in the Mogilev region in summer. δ 18 O values in drinking water were quite constant ( δ 18 O = +9.83±0.63‰), but the δ 18 O pattern in milk water changed across the regions.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the food security problem in many countries around the world. Although agri-food systems were more resilient to shocks than other sectors of the economy, the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic increased unemployment, lowered overall incomes and purchasing power, forcing consumers to switch to cheaper diets. The identified problems are exacerbated by the continuing increase in land degradation and biodiversity and increasingly frequent adverse weather events. In this regard, taking into account the increasing degree of involvement of states in international processes, it seems relevant to study the provision of national food security of the Republic of Belarus in the context of global trends for the timely identification and anticipation of risks and threats. The paper presents the results of study of modern aspects of ensuring food security at the global and national levels. The tendencies of physical and economic accessibility of food in the domestic market are revealed, the assessment of level of nutrition and quality of life of population is presented. Prospective directions for improving the state policy in the field of food security are substantiated, aimed at the optimal use of production potential, maintaining supply of food to population at a level sufficient for healthy nutrition, eliminating dependence on unjustified imports, protecting the interests of domestic producers, as well as enhancing foreign economic activity. Acknowledgments. The research was carried out within the framework of the State Research Program “Agricultural Technologies and Food Security” (subprogram 9.7 “Economy of agro-industrial complex”).

The article presents the results of research on the comparative analysis of the influence of various methods of technological preparation of collagen-containing raw materials on its quality indicators. It was established that the preliminary preparation of collagen-containing raw materials allows increasing the amino acid grades of essential amino acids: isoleucine (up to 70.0-92.5%), leucine (up to 68.6-100.0%), phenylalanine and tyrosine (up to 60.0-75.0%) - acid, alkaline, enzymatic hydrolysis, hydrolysis in aqueous medium, fermentation with bacteria of the genus Lactobacacus methionine and cysteine (up to 37.1-42.9%) - acid, alkaline, enzymatic hydrolysis (plant origin), fermentation by bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus; threonine (up to 87.3-115.0%) - hydrolysis in an aqueous medium, alkaline, enzymatic hydrolysis (plant and animal origin); valine (up to 106.0-110.0%) - hydrolysis in an aqueous medium, acid and enzymatic hydrolysis (of animal origin). It was determined that the collagen-containing raw material subjected to technological preparation is characterized by ratios (PNZHK + MNZHK): NZHK (1.8-2.2) and PNZHK: MNZHK: NZHK (hydrolysis in aqueous medium - 1: 2.61: 1.83, acid method - 1: 3.56: 2.14, alkaline method - 1: 3.60: 2.11, enzymatic method: plant origin - 1: 3.54: 2.50, animal origin - 1: 3.12: 1.92), fermentation by bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus - 1: 3.73: 2.38).

The experimental studies of hydrodynamics of the gas flow filtration through the candied fruits layer, formed by the different methods, were carried out. The particles of studied candied fruits were cylindrical, equally sized, filled the whole container for drying. The main characteristics of the layers were experimentally determined: porosity, equivalent diameter, specific surface. The results of experiments prove the expedience of the candied fruits layer formation of the cylindrical particles with correct form by the method of placing candied fruits vertically “with overlap of channels”. Such method allows provide the insignificant hydraulic resistance of the layer and rather high speed of the gas flow filtration through this layer. It will result in the increase of heat transfer and mass output coefficients, so to the intensification of filtration drying. Such formation method also allows reduce the volume of drying equipment, shorten the time of drying and decrease the energy consumption of process.

The paper presents the results of the study of trends and development potential of the Belarusian market of lactose­free dairy products in terms of assessing the price advantages of dairy products in relation to other food products with high calcium content, analysing the range of lactose­free dairy products and comparing the cost of this category of products produced in Belarus against imported ones. The key provisions of the comparative assessment of methods of lactose content reduction in dairy raw materials are presented. The parameters and prospective directions of market development are substantiated.

For production of fermented milk products in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, lactic acid bacteria related to p. Lactococcus are used more often. Continuous phage monitoring makes it possible to limit economic losses due to phagolysis at production of fermented milk products, as well as to reduce the risk of contamination of finished products with pathogenic microbiota. It is necessary to identify and determine the properties of bacteriophages for that circulating at enterprises, considering that at each individual enterprise there are no specific types (kinds) of phages, which is due to the assortment of products, types of ferments used and hygiene conditions. The article dwells on studies on isolation and characterization of lactococci bacteriophages. Of the 51 phagocontaining samples of products selected in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, 68 bacteriophages have been isolated. The spectrum of their lytic activity was determined. Based on the results of PCR with species specific primers, 39 bacteriophages are classified as C2 type. One bacteriophage was identified as P335 according to PCR results. 939 type bacteriophages were not detected among the isolated viruses. Differentiation of C2 type lactococcal phages was carried out. A selection of the restriction enzymes allowing to distinguish phages inside the C2 type is carried out. A scheme of intraspecific differentiation of lactococci bacteriophages was developed using RFLP analysis. RFLP-analysis allowed to divide 39 lactophages of type C2 into six groups. Acknowledgements. The work was carried out within the framework of research under task 9.5.50 “Study of species diversity of lactic acid bacteria obtained from natural sources, variability of lactococci phages obtained at milk processing plants, depending on season and region” of GPNI “Innovative technologies in agro-industrial complex”.

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the nutritional and biological value, functional and technological indicators of legumes (beans, peas) and grain crops and their processed products (cereals (pearl, oat, millet, rice, barley, semolina, buckwheat), flour (wheat, rye, amaranth, oat, barley, millet, buckwheat)) It was found that this plant raw material is a source of protein, essential amino acids (indices of essential amino acids up to 2.01), polyunsaturated fatty acids, mineral substances - potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, which make it possible to meet the daily need for these micronutrients up to 70.0% (with consumption of 100 g), is characterized by improved functional and technological parameters, which confirms the prospects of its use in meat products characterized by balanced amino acid, fatty acid and mineral composition.

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of key trends in the digitalisation of the national economy, which act as a driver of virtualisation of communications of dairy market stakeholders, have been studied and substantiated. It is established the different speed and slow implementation of digital accounting technologies in the conditions of differentiation of requests of interested organisations and customers, providing time saving, and communication costs are calculated. On the one hand, the involvement of local computer networks in the internal activities of national organisations, the internet – in the environment of virtual external interaction, rather with suppliers than with consumers, and e-mail, websites – in all spheres of their virtual activity is predominantly developed. On the other hand, there is a big lag in the implementation of such key elements of digital technologies as “big data”, “internet of things”, artificial intelligence models, radio-frequency identification, “digital twins”. The feasibility of creating a web showcase site for virtual interactions between innovatively active dairy enterprises and customers is substantiated.

Original and elite seeds of agricultural plants are the basis for production of reproductive seeds and contribute to an increase in the production of vegetable products, providing raw materials to processing companies of the republic. Greenhouse varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops have a high potential, have a complex of economically valuable features and can occupy a certain niche in professional and especially amateur vegetable growing. However, implementation of the potential of the created varieties and hybrids of vegetable crops is largely determined by the conditions of seed production. It has been determined, that the situation in the country is when over 85 % of the seeds of vegetable crops used for the production of vegetables are imported. At the same time, the production of the necessary volumes of seeds, which will ensure the standard production of vegetable products for consumption by the population and the manufacturing industry, is not only a factor in the development of the vegetable market, but also a condition for helping to guarantee the country’s food security. In this regard, it is necessary to intensify domestic selection and seed production in the vegetable sector. The article substantiates a practice-oriented system of measures for the development of the market of seeds of vegetable crops in the Republic of Belarus, including the following blocks of regulatory action: stimulating the development of the sphere of reproduction of vegetable seeds; improving the accounting of the movement of commodity flows in the market of vegetable seeds; integration of the country into the world system of commodity seed production of vegetable crops; ensuring traceability of seed turnover based on digitalization; development of an integrated technical and economic approach to the implementation of production activities; monitoring of the market of seeds of vegetable crops. The development contains a set of systematized tools, the use of which allows justifying effective management decisions in the field of agro-industrial complex for the effective formation of a favorable organizational and economic environment for the production and sale of competitive seeds of vegetable crops of domestic selection.

Study of possibilities of using various types of raw materials as fillers for food 3D printers is relevant for development of additive technologies in the field of food production. Currently, the properties are studied to the greatest extent and the ingredients are widely used for confectionery production in the world and, at the same time, the process properties of raw materials of animal origin, in particular meat raw material, as one of the main sources of protein are of greater interest. Process capabilities of meat raw material were studied for this purpose for formulating emulsions or mixtures suitable for use as a raw material for food 3D printer. Formulations of emulsions and dry mixes are developed based on broiler chicken meat, as well as combinations of broiler chicken meat and pork, pork and beef (ratio 1 : 1) for manufacture of semi-finished products, as well as production technologies. It was determined that it is advisable to add structure-forming components to formulations of emulsions in a dry form, which provides improved functional-and-process and structural-and-mechanical indicators in comparison with hydrated and gel forms. It was determined that 15% of hydrolyzed connective tissue or 10 % of hydrolyzed pork skin can reduce the level of structure-forming components in emulsion formulations, and also has a positive effect on reducing the cost price of emulsions while maintaining rational functional-and-process and structural-and-mechanical parameters. It has been revealed that adding 6-12 % of WPS-UF-80, 5-10 % of dry whey or 4-8 % of fat free milk powder into emulsion formulations allows reducing the level of structure-forming ingredients in the formulations. These mixtures and emulsions used as raw materials for food 3D printers will ensure production of innovative group of meat products using additive technologies in the Republic of Belarus.

Two test-systems for a direct and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of peptide antibiotic bacitracin (BC) were developed and studied. For the both systems, polyclonal antibodies were obtained by immunizing rabbits with a conjugate of BC with keyhole limpet hemocyanine synthesized using reaction between the peptide and the high molecular weight protein in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC). The product of BC linking to thyroglobulin which was activated with EDC and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide served as conjugated antigen on a solid phase in the indirect ELISA. For the direct ELISA, the antibodies against BC were immunochemically immobilized onto microplate surface, while the liquid phase contained a conjugate of BC with horseradish peroxidase. This conjugate was obtained by successive reactions of antibiotic amino groups coupling to periodate oxidized carbohydrate chains of enzyme and the reducting of formed Shiff’s base with sodium borohydride. Conjugated antigens binding to anti-BC antibodies provided maximum colorimetric signals of 2.0 and 1.2 optical units for the direct and indirect ELISA, respectively, and depended on BC content in the liquid phase. Antibiotic concentration that caused the inhibition of binding by 50 % was 2.6 ng/ml in the direct ELISA and 10.0 ng/ml in the indirect ELISA. The simple and sensitive direct ELISA system was used as a prototype of the finished reagent kit and a method for measurements with technical-analytical parameters and metrological characteristics allowing the determination of BC residues in a variety of foods including 14 items in a concentration range of 9.0 to 405.0 pg/kg with proper accuracy and precision.

The results of research of the market potential of new types of meat products for the nutrition of preschool and school children with an elevated body mass index are presented. The social importance of the introduction of these products in the diet of children studying at educational institutions is reflected. The estimation of potential demand volume of the internal market in new meat products of reduced caloric content developed at Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry is carried out. The complex of measures to stimu late the production and consumption of these products in the Republic of Belarus has been substantiated.

The imbalance of the population’s diets in the modern conditions is characterized by excessive intake of salt, saturated fats and sugar, deficiency of complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fatty acids, micro- and macronutrients. This leads to impaired physical development, tension of metabolic processes and adaptation mechanisms in the human body, as evidenced by the annual increase in noninfectious diseases. In this regard, making a food environment that contributes to full, balanced and healthy diet for all categories of the population is one of the priorities of national policy. A methodology has been developed for assessing and predicting the development potential of the specialized food market, that combines goal and objectives, principles and methods, an algorithm and a system of criteria and indicators for assessing the market segments development. The methodology was tested based on example of the segments of children’s, sports, dietary therapeutic and preventive nutrition in the Republic of Belarus, which allowed to assess potential market capacity, taking into account the determinants of market formation and substantiate a set of promising development directions. The practical significance of the development lies in its focus on increasing the physical and economic accessibility of specialized food products to consumer target groups by creating the necessary socio-economic conditions in the country that ensure effective integration of scientific, industrial and trade spheres in the direction of improving the system of development, commercialization, introduction and promotion of innovative products with active regulatory and coordinating role of the state.

The article gives empirical grounding of reducing the melanoidins formation process duration at high-temperature processing of sweet canned milk due to the use of enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose. In sweet canned milk samples with hydrolyzed lactose there was a more intensive decrease in active acidity and an increase in oxidation-reduction potential and obviously a change in milk color within a short period of time by contrast to milk with not hydrolyzed lactose. Lactose disaccharide splitting to (38±2)% allows to reduce the duration of high-temperature processing average by 40% at
 traditionally applied prossing temperature of (105±5) °C, and reduce the sucrose content in the finished product by 3–8%. The use of fructose in order to accelerate the process of cooking whole condensed milk is not rational.

Physiological studies were conducted to confirm the functional properties of new types of meat products intended for the nutrition of primary school children with an elevated body mass index. The recently developed high-quality meat products used in this study had reduced caloric content, with energy values 30 % lower than traditional products for primary school children, and no specific additives were present while maintaining product quality and appeal. The experiment revealed distinctive changes in parameters such as exploratory and locomotor reflexes, coordination, and endurance. A complete blood count and biochemical analysis were performed, and the metabolic activity of bifido- and lactobacteria in the large intestine was analyzed and evaluated both in physiological normalcy and after diet modification. The findings indicate that dietary correction is sufficient to initiate positive dynamics in counteracting adverse changes in the body caused by excessive consumption of high-calorie food.

Bacteria p. Leuconostoc is a technologically important group of lactic acid bacteria that is part of starter cultures for production of various dairy products. Two species are most important in the dairy industry: Leuconostoc lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides , which includes three subspecies: dextranicum , mesenteroides and cremoris . The main problem of identifying representatives of the p. Leuconostoc that these microorganisms can often be misidentified as enterococci or lactobacilli. In comparison with traditional methods of species detection, the establishment of species identity using PCR is characterized by universality, a deeper level of species differentiation, high reproducibility and reliability. The article presents the results of designing specific primers for Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. mesenteroides and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. dextranicum . The specificity of developed primers was confirmed by in silico testing using available Leuconostoc mesenteroides genomic sequences, and experimentally using DNA samples of Leuconostoc mesenteroides clear cultures. The taxonomic affiliation of 5 isolates of leuconostocci isolated from natural samples was established using the developed primers. Methodological Instructions have been developed that regulate the procedure for determining the taxonomic position of bacteria of genus Leuconostoc to a subspecies. Methodological guidelines for identification of leuconostocs will be used in collections of industrial microorganisms for the accurate identification of deposited strains.

A prospective source of additional food protein in the meat industry is collagen-containing raw materials: pork skin, connective tissue obtained at meat trimming, collagen-containing by-products, etc., which can be used as part of proteinand-fat emulsions. Collagen emulsions have a wide range of functional properties: moisture and fat retention, foam and gelling abilities, emulsifying activity, active foam, emulsions and dispersions stabilizers, so they can be used as a technological additive in the meat industry. Therefore, the most important task in the process is the complete use of collagen-containing raw materials with the maximum implementation of its properties. The paper presents the results of studies on determining the amino acid composition and balance of collagen-containing raw materials: pork skin, beef tendons, lungs, rumen, beef lips and ears, pork ears, udder, spleen, omasum, skin, head, feet, caruncle, stomach and intestines of poultry. It was determined that collagen-containing raw material contains all the essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine and cysteine, phenylalanine and tyrosine, threonine, valine with the amino acid count in the range of 17.1–185.0 %. At the same time, a more balanced amino acid composition in comparison with other types of collagen-containing raw materials is shown by: pork skin, udder, beef lips and trachea, chitterlings, omasum, rumen, lungs and spleen as evidenced by high values of amino acid score (up to 185 %), essential amino acid index (up to 1.1), utility factor of the amino acid composition (up to 0.84), as well as the approximate values of the comparable redundancy index (0.0007–0.0043). The research results confirm the prospectiveness of combining muscle and connective tissue proteins in recipes of meat products of high nutritional and biological value.

It has been established that the traditional methodology for assessing the efficiency of technological processes in the dairy industry involves quantitative measurement of consumed and normative values of technical and cost indicators of resource use (milk, components, labour, electricity, etc.) for food production. The necessity to develop a methodology for assessing the efficiency of technological processes in the dairy industry on the basis of quantitative measurement of normatively consumed and actually consumed resources in order to take into account the use of declared capacities of processing organizations was substantiated.

The article presents an overview of existing nutrition theories (ancient theory, balanced nutrition theory, adequate nutrition theory, alternative nutrition theories), concepts and their food strategies, features.

The trends in the development of the meat and dairy industries are analyzed. Information is provided on global trends in food production and areas for improving technical processes.