Joao Augusto Marques de Almeida
@iniav.pt
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
M.T.P. Dentinho, K. Paulos, C. Costa, J. Costa, L. Fialho, L. Cachucho, A.P. Portugal, J. Almeida, I. Rehan, A.T. Belo,et al.
Elsevier BV
José Santos-Silva, Susana P. Alves, Alexandra Francisco, Ana Paula Portugal, Maria Teresa Dentinho, João Almeida, José Leandro Regedor da Silva, Letícia Fialho, Liliana Cachucho, Eliana Jerónimo,et al.
Elsevier BV
A.C.M. Vítor, M. Godinho, A.E. Francisco, J. Silva, J. Almeida, L. Fialho, D. Soldado, E. Jerónimo, N.D. Scollan, S.A. Huws,et al.
Elsevier BV
Jingjing Liu, João M. Almeida, Nicola Rampado, Begoña Panea, Élise Hocquette, Sghaier Chriki, Marie-Pierre Ellies-Oury, and Jean-Francois Hocquette
Frontiers Media SA
The aim of this study was to investigate how consumers (n = 2,171) originated from South-Western Europe (Italy, Portugal, and Spain) perceive cultured “meat” (CM) and if their demographic characteristics (origin, gender, age, education, occupation, and meat consumption) are related to their willingness to try (WTT), to regularly eat (WTE) and to pay (WTP) for CM. We found the current respondents had an initially positive attitude towards CM: 49% of them perceived CM as “promising and/or acceptable” and 23% “fun and/or intriguing” whereas 29% considered it as “absurd and/or disgusting”. In addition, 66 and 25% would be willing and not willing to try CM, respectively. However, 43% had no WTE for CM and, 94% would not pay more for CM compared to conventional meat. Age and especially occupation were good indicators of consumer acceptance of CM. Respondents of 18–30 years of age had the highest acceptance. Respondents outside the meat sector had the highest WTE and people working within the meat sector had the lowest WTE, scientists (within or outside the meat sector) had the highest WTT, people not scientists but within the meat sector had the lowest WTT. Additionally, we found that men are more likely to accept CM than women, Spanish-speaking consumers had the highest WTT and WTE, people with vegan and vegetarian diets may pay more for CM but generally no more than for conventional meat. The perceptions that CM may be more eco-friendly, ethical, safe and healthy than conventional meat, and to a lower extent, the perception that current meat production causes ethical and environmental problems are likely to be major motives for the current respondents to try, regularly eat and pay for CM. On the opposite, lower perceptions of CM benefits and of conventional meat weaknesses more generally, plus emotional resistance towards CM are main barriers to accept CM.
M. Machado, J. Catarino, J. Almeida, I. Lopes, A. Alvarado, R. Matos, T. Ribeiro, P. Faísca, O. Moreira, and D. Murta
Wageningen Academic Publishers
The growing demand for broilers production is related to environmental and economic impacts worldwide, increasing the urgency to find alternative feed ingredients. Recent studies indicated the productive potential of some insect species, which may serve as a protein and lipid source for animal feeding, as the case of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae (Hermetia illucens). This study aimed at assessing the effects of dietary replacement of soybean meal by BSF larvae meal in broiler diets, in growth parameters, liver and intestinal tract morphology, carcass and meat quality. Forty-eight 1-day old chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to one of four feeding regimes, which consisted of a basal diet in which soybean meal was replaced BSF larvae meal, at levels of 0% (Hi0), 25% (Hi25), 50% (Hi50) and 75% (Hi75). The animals’ excreta were collected and registered daily, and half the animals were slaughtered at 28 days of age. The liver, caecum and other portions of the intestines were analysed, and the intestinal tract was collected for histopathological analysis. BSF larvae meal did not affect carcass weight, but it resulted in a lower weight of the right breast of birds when fed with a 75% inclusion level (P=0.049). In addition, all growth parameters, general meat quality and excreta production were similar among treatments, while excreta characteristics were significantly different (P<0.05). Dietary BSF meal resulted in lower liver weight (P=0.03) in comparison to the control. No histopathological lesions were found in the gastrointestinal tract and morphometric traits were similar among treatments. It was concluded that the dietary inclusion of BSF larvae meal for broilers did not significantly affect the animals’ growth and gut health. This alternative feed ingredient can be used as a more sustainable option for broilers at up to 75% of soybean meal replacement.
José Santos-Silva, Alexandra Francisco, Ana Paula Portugal, Kátia Paulos, Maria Teresa Dentinho, João M. Almeida, Leandro Regedor, Letícia Fialho, Liliana Cachucho, Eliana Jerónimo,et al.
Elsevier BV
Diogo Coelho, Cristina M. Alfaia, Paula A. Lopes, José M. Pestana, Mónica M. Costa, Rui M.A. Pinto, João M. Almeida, Olga Moreira, Carlos M.G.A. Fontes, and José A.M. Prates
Elsevier BV
David M. Ribeiro, Diogo Coelho, Hugo Osório, Cátia Martins, João P. Bengala Freire, João Almeida, Olga Moreira, André M. Almeida, and José A.M. Prates
Elsevier BV
M. Aluwé, E. Heyrman, E. Kostyra, S. Żakowska-Biemans, J. Almeida, J. Citek, M. Font-i-Furnols, O. Moreira, K. Zadinová, L. Tudoreanu,et al.
Elsevier BV
Maria Cristina Bressan, Ana Teresa Belo, Andreia Amaral, Daniela Cordeiro, Cleube Andrade Boari, Carlos Bettencourt, Sofia van Harten, Olga Moreira, Luis Telo da Gama, and João Marques Almeida
Elsevier BV
Marijke Aluwé, Evert Heyrman, João Almeida, Jakub Babol, Gianni Battacone, Jaroslav Čítek, Maria Font i Furnols, Andriy Getya, Danijel Karolyi, Eliza Kostyra,et al.
MDPI AG
The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]
Diogo Coelho, José Pestana, João M. Almeida, Cristina M. Alfaia, Carlos M. G. A. Fontes, Olga Moreira, and José A. M. Prates
MDPI AG
The influence of a high inclusion level of Chlorella vulgaris, individually and supplemented with two carbohydrase mixtures, in finishing pig diets was assessed on zootechnical performance, carcass characteristics, pork quality traits and nutritional value of pork fat. Forty crossbred entire male pigs, sons of Large White × Landrace sows crossed with Pietrain boars, with an initial live weight of 59.1 ± 5.69 kg were used in this trial. Swines were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments (n = 10): cereal and soybean meal-based diet (control), control diet with 5% C. vulgaris (CV), CV diet supplemented with 0.005% Rovabio® Excel AP (CV + R) and CV diet supplemented with 0.01% of a four-CAZyme mixture (CV + M). Animals were slaughtered, after the finishing period, with a BW of 101 ± 1.9 kg. Growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality traits were not influenced (p > 0.05) by the incorporation of C. vulgaris in the diets. However, the inclusion of the microalga in finishing pig diets increased some lipid-soluble antioxidant pigments and n-3 PUFA, and decreased the n-6:n-3 ratio of fatty acids, thus ameliorating the nutritional value of pork fat. Moreover, the supplementation of diets with the carbohydrase mixtures did not change (p > 0.05) neither animal performance nor meat quality traits, indicating their inefficacy in the increase of digestive utilization of C. vulgaris by pigs under these experimental conditions. It is concluded that the use of C. vulgaris in finishing pig diets, at this high incorporation level, improves the nutritional value of pork fat without compromising pig performance.
M. C. Bressan, J. Almeida, A. Amaral, C. Bettencourt, J. Santos-Silva, O. Moreira, R. Bessa, and L. T. Gama
Springer International Publishing
Marijke Aluwé, Evert Heyrman, João Almeida, Jakub Babol, Gianni Battacone, Jaroslav Čítek, Maria Font i Furnols, Andriy Getya, Danijel Karolyi, Eliza Kostyra,et al.
MDPI AG
Surgical castration of piglets without pain relief is still common practice in many countries. Possible alternatives for surgical castration are application of pain relief or anaesthesia or production of boars (entire males) and immunocastrates. Each of these alternatives faces advantages and disadvantages which may result in different citizen attitudes and consumers acceptability. Understanding which practice is acceptable to whom and why may further stimulate implementation. Consumer (n = 3251) and stakeholder (n = 1027) attitudes towards surgical castration without pain relief, surgical castration with anaesthesia, immunocastration, and production of boars were surveyed from April to June 2020 via an online questionnaire in 16 countries (>175 respondents per country). Surgical castration without pain relief was separated from each of the alternatives due to animal welfare and showed the lowest acceptability (32%). Within the alternatives, a further partitioning between the alternatives was based on perceived quality and food safety, with an acceptance of 85% for applying anaesthesia, 71% for immunocastration, and 49% for boar production. Differences depending on professional involvement and familiarity with agriculture could be observed, mainly for the acceptance of surgical castration without anaesthesia, immunocastration, and boars. Castration with anaesthesia was highly accepted by all types of respondents.
José Santos-Silva, Susana P. Alves, Alexandra Francisco, Ana Paula Portugal, João Almeida, Letícia Fialho, Eliana Jerónimo, and Rui J.B. Bessa
Elsevier BV
M.T.P. Dentinho, K. Paulos, A. Francisco, A.T. Belo, E. Jerónimo, J. Almeida, R.J.B. Bessa, and J. Santos-Silva
Elsevier BV
Alexandra E. Francisco, Martin Janíček, Teresa Dentinho, Ana P.V. Portugal, João M. Almeida, Susana P. Alves, Letícia Fialho, Eliana Jerónimo, Rui J.B. Bessa, and José Santos-Silva
Elsevier BV
Olinda Guerreiro, Susana P. Alves, David Soldado, Liliana Cachucho, João M. Almeida, Alexandra Francisco, José Santos-Silva, Rui J.B. Bessa, and Eliana Jerónimo
Elsevier BV
J.M. Almeida, M.C. Bressan, A.J. Amaral, C. Bettencourt, J. Santos-Silva, O. Moreira, and L.T. Gama
Elsevier BV
Andreia J. Amaral, Maria Cristina Bressan, João Almeida, Carlos Bettencourt, Olga Moreira, João Sá, Margarida Gama-Carvalho, Rui Bessa, and Luis T. Gama
Elsevier BV
José Santos-Silva, Alexandra Francisco, Susana P. Alves, Paula Portugal, Teresa Dentinho, João Almeida, David Soldado, Eliana Jerónimo, and Rui J.B. Bessa
Elsevier BV
J Almeida, M C Bressan, J Santos-Silva, O Moreira, C Bettencourt, and L T Gama
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Iberian (IB, n = 60) and crossbred Large White × Landrace (F1, n = 58) pigs were slaughtered at 160 kg, after finishing under intensive conditions or on pasture and acorns. The study was carried out as a factorial arrangement of treatments, and physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of meat were assessed in Longissimus thoracis samples. Physical characteristics included the assessment of drip loss, cooking loss, shear force, and color coordinates in meat samples processed at 2 and 9 d postmortem. The interactions of genetic group and finishing system were significant (P < 0.05) for cooking loss in meat aged for 9 d and for sensorial tenderness and global acceptability of meat, but none of the other physicochemical, color coordinates, and sensory variables analyzed showed a significant interaction. Genetic group was the main factor influencing the variables analyzed, with a major (P < 0.01) influence on all meat physicochemical characteristics and sensory attributes. Relative to F1 pigs, the IB produced meat with higher intramuscular fat content and marbling score, more appealing color coordinates, lower shear force, and higher sensorial tenderness. The finishing systems affected (P < 0.05) most physical characteristics, but not chemical composition of meat and their impact on sensory properties was small. The tenderness, juiciness, and global acceptability of meat were much higher in IB pigs, and flavor was also more desirable, but the difference was smaller. The differences in sensory properties between meats originating from the two genetic groups were largely explained by the higher fat deposition in IB pigs, such that a higher level of marbling was positively associated with all the sensory attributes evaluated. Ageing meat for up to 9 d postmortem benefited pork quality, improving meat tenderness, and color, particularly in crossbred pigs and those finished intensively.
A. Francisco, S.P. Alves, P.V. Portugal, M.T. Dentinho, E. Jerónimo, S. Sengo, J. Almeida, M.C. Bressan, V.M.R. Pires, C.M. Alfaia,et al.
Elsevier BV
Meat from lambs finished with high-starch diets often contains low concentration of vaccenic (t11-18:1) and rumenic (c9,t11-18:2) acids and high concentration of t10-18:1. We hypothesized that replacing cereals by dehydrated citrus pulp (DCP) and the inclusion of tanniferous feed sources in oil supplemented diets might reduce the accumulation of t10-18:1 and increase the t11-18:1 and c9,t11-18:2 in lamb meat, without affecting the productive performance. In total, 32 lambs were assigned to four diets which combine two factors: basal diet (BD) (cereals v. DCP) and Cistus ladanifer (CL) (0 v. 150 g/kg dry matter). Feed intake, average daily weight gain and carcass traits were not affected by treatments, except for dressing percentage that was reduced with DCP (P=0.046). Both DCP and C. ladanifer reduced tenderness and juiciness of meat, and C. ladanifer also reduced (P0.05) by diets. However, DCP increased the proportions of odd-chain FA (P=0.005) and several minor biohydrogenation (BH) intermediates in meat lipids. C. ladanifer had few effects on meat FA profile. The proportions of t11-18:1 and c9,t11-18:2 were high in all diets (5.4% and 1.5% of total FA, respectively) and were not influenced by the treatments. Basal diet and CL showed some significant interactions concerning FA composition of intramuscular fat. In diets without C. ladanifer, replacement of cereals by DCP increased the 18:0 (P<0.05) and decreased t10,c12-18:2 (P<0.05), t10-18:1 (P<0.10) and t10-/t11-18:1 ratio (P<0.10) with a large reduction of the individual variation for t10-18:1 and of t10-/t11-18:1 ratio. Combined with cereals, C. ladanifer increased 18:0 and reduced the BH intermediates in meat. Replacement of cereals by DCP seems to promote a more predictable FA profile in lamb meat, reducing the risk of t10-shifted BH pathways in the rumen.
M. Costa, S. P. Alves, A. Francisco, J. Almeida, C. M. Alfaia, S. V. Martins, J. A. M. Prates, J. Santos-Silva, O. Doran, and R. J. B. Bessa
Oxford University Press (OUP)
The experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that the replacement of cereal with low-starch feed ingredients in lambs' finishing diets supplemented with oils could prevent the accumulation of -10-18:1 in meat. Forty lambs were fed 1 of 4 diets supplemented with soybean oil (5.9%) and fish oil (1%) for 6 wk before slaughter. The control (CON) diet contained 43% barley, and in the other diets, barley was completely replaced by dehydrated citrus pulp (DCP), dehydrated sugar beet pulp (DBP), or soybean hulls (SH). Growth performance, feed intake, and carcass and meat quality traits were analyzed. At slaughter, LM samples were collected for gene expression evaluation, and 3 d after slaughter, LM and subcutaneous (s.c.) fat samples were collected for fatty acid analysis. None of the diets affected meat quality, but the DCP diet reduced ADG ( < 0.05) and the DCP and SH diets decreased the feed-to-gain ratio ( < 0.01). The DCP diet increased ( < 0.05) the risk of parakeratosis and the severity of the lesions. Moreover, the DBP treatment led to increased a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) in s.c. fat compared with the CON treatment ( < 0.05). The lipid content of LM did not differ ( > 0.05) with treatment and averaged 34.4 g/kg of meat. Diets had no effect ( > 0.05) on SFA, PUFA, and -MUFA sums and on the -6:-3 ratio in both LM and s.c. fat. A lower expression of fatty acid synthase (FASN) was found with the DCP treatment than with the other treatments ( < 0.001). All treatments showed a high accumulation of -10-18:1, averaging 91 mg/g fatty acid in LM and 147 mg/g fatty acid in s.c. fat. The concentration of -11-18:1 in the tissues was considerably lower than that of -10-18:1, and thus the -10-18:1:-11-18:1 ratio was above 3 with all treatments. Despite this, the SH diet clearly promoted a larger deposition of -11-18:1 and -9,-11-18:2 in tissues compared with the other treatments. () gene expression and SCD activity index in LM were reduced with the SH diet compared with the CON and DCP diets. Overall, these results clearly showed, for the first time, that low-starch/high-NDF diets are not able to prevent the establishment of -10 shifted rumen biohydrogenation pathways, evaluated by the deposition of biohydrogenation intermediates in lamb meat and fat.
M. C. Bressan, J. Almeida, J. Santos Silva, C. Bettencourt, A. Francisco, and L. T. Gama
Oxford University Press (OUP)
A factorial experiment was performed with 117 barrows belonging to the Iberian (IB) and crossbred F Large White × Landrace (F) genetic groups, either intensively finished (IN) or finished outdoors on pasture in an oak and cork tree forest (EX). Information was collected on carcass weight, yield, and dimensions; weight of organs, carcass cuts, and abdominal fat depots; backfat depth; measurements of the longissimus thoracis (LT); and yield of different leg tissues. For the 41 slaughter and carcass traits analyzed, the interaction between genetic group and finishing system was significant ( < 0.05) in 18 traits, and overall, there was a more pronounced influence of genetic group than of finishing system. In most variables, particularly those related with fat deposition, the interaction reflected mostly changes in mean differences among genetic groups rather than in their ranking, where IB pigs consistently produced fatter carcasses, regardless of the finishing system. Liver weight in IB-EX pigs was lower by nearly 8% when compared with F-EX or IB-IN pigs, but the opposite pattern was found in F pigs, where liver weight in F-EX pigs was higher by 16% relative to IB-EX pigs or to F-IN pigs. The deposition of adipose tissue was much larger ( < 0.05) in IB pigs compared with F pigs, with means for fat depots in IB pigs that were higher by about 25% in total abdominal fat, 94% in dorsal fat depth, 72% in intermuscular plus subcutaneous fat in the leg, and over 300% in intramuscular fat (IMF). The deposition of lean tissue was much lower in IB pigs ( < 0.05), with means for trimmed loin weight corresponding to about one-half of the means obtained in F pigs, whereas lean percentage in the leg of IB pigs was about two-thirds of the mean in F pigs and the mean area of the LT was nearly one-half of that observed in F pigs in the same finishing system ( < 0.05). A strong correlation was observed between the various fat depots when the full data set was considered (correlations of IMF with abdominal fat and backfat depth of 0.65 and 0.83, respectively; < 0.05), but the correlations were much smaller when they were estimated within breed, particularly for IB pigs (-0.10 and 0.20 for the correlations of IMF with abdominal fat and backfat depth, respectively; > 0.05), indicating that it is feasible to reduce subcutaneous and abdominal fat without compromising IMF and meat quality.