Alltane
@uni-pr.edu
University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary
University of Prishtina "Hasan Prishtina"
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Animal Production, Food Production
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Rreze M Gecaj, Skender Muji, Flutura C Ajazi, Bajram Berisha, Alltane Kryeziu, and Muharrem Ismaili
Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences
Food adulteration and fraudulent practices are widely observed in the food industry worldwide and are of great concern for Balkan countries. This study aims at investigating the level of undeclared pork meat in commercial beef and chicken meat products sold in Kosovo by implying one commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and two confirmatory real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approaches [ready-to-use real-time PCR and real-time PCR with primers specific for pork mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)]. In supermarkets in the capital city, Prishtina, 62 meat products were randomly sampled, and the three methods were applied. Additionally, these three approaches were evaluated for their practicability, reproducibility, and cost. The results showed that pork was present in 32% of beef- and 8% chicken-based products. ELISA and real-time PCR with pork specific primers showed 100% of reproducibility for beef- and chicken-based products. In contrast, the ready-to-use real-time PCR kit showed 100% reproducibility in chicken-, but only 75% in beef-based samples. ELISA was more rapid than both real-time PCR approaches, but it was more challenging when large numbers of samples were processed. The real-time PCR approach with pork specific primers was the cheapest, while the ready-to-use real-time PCR was the most practical method. Commercial ELISA, in combination with real-time PCR with pork specific primers, provides a reliable and affordable testing methodology that can be implemented for rapid detection and monitoring of pork adulteration in diverse commercial foods.
M. Kamberi, Shpetim Berisha, N. Mestani and A. Kryeziu
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different stocking densities on the growth performance of Ross 308 broiler chickens up to six weeks of age. A total of 216 one-day broiler chicks were randomly assigned to three treatment groups based on the stocking density: Low (LSD) = 14 chickens m-2, Medium (MSD) = 18 chickens per m2 and High (HSD) = 22 chickens m-2, with four replications. Higher body weight gain (TWG) was observed for the low (2,043.89 g) and medium (2,008.03 g) compared to the high (1,901.51 g) density. The study revealed that chickens of the LSD treatment consumed significantly (P < 0.01) more feed compared to the HSD chickens. High stocking density (22 m-2) tended to improve feed conversion ratio compared to medium (18 m-2) and low (14 m-2) stocking density, but the differences were not significant (P > 0.05). From the results of this study it can be concluded that broiler chicks can be stocked up to 22 chickens m2, as far as required standards are assured.
Kamberi, Ragip Kastrati, N. Mestani, S. Muji and A. Kryeziu
An 8 week experiment was conducted to study the effect of adding phytase (Natuphos 5000 BASF) to low and normal available phosphorus diets of laying hens on the excreta content and excretion of Ca, Mg, Zn and Cu. A total of 144 Hisex Brown laying hens that were 22 weeks old at the start of the experiment were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments. Treatments included three replicates (12 hens each) or 36 hens per treatment in total. Four corn-soybean meal-based diets were formulated to contain two levels of available phosphorus (AP; 0.12 and 0.46%) and two phytase levels (0 and 600 FTU kg 1). The results showed that there was no significant effect of added phytase on excreta Ca and Mg content (P > 0.05), but there was a significant effect of the dietary treatment on the content of Zn (P = 0.0075) and Cu (P = 0.0002). In terms of the excretion of these minerals, the dietary treatment had no effect on Ca and Zn excretion and a borderline effect (P = 0.0522) on Mg excretion measured as the amount of the mineral excreted per egg mass produced is observed. The results however showed a very strong effect of all three factors (available phosphorus, phytase and their interaction) on Cu excretion. The results indicate that adding 600 FTU to the corn-soybean meal laying hen diet with 0.12% or 0.46% AP beneficially affects the content and the excretion of Ca, Mg, Zn and Cu. Therefore, we can conclude that a laying hen diet containing 0.12% available phosphorus and 600 FTU during the first production cycle may not only satisfactorily s