Biogenic Amine Analysis in Fresh Meats and Meat Meals Used as Raw Materials for Dry Pet Food Production

Fresh meats and meat meals are important components for the production of dry pet food. Both of these raw materials are by-products of meat processing generated during the production of food for human consumption. Being by-products, they can be more subject to contamination and proliferation of microorganisms which degrade the organic component and lead to the development of degradation products such as biogenic amines. Biogenic amines are nitrogen compounds produced by microbial decarboxylation of amino acids, thus being very present in foods rich in certain amino acids. The ingestion of foods containing a large amount of biogenic amines can cause intoxication and harmful consequences for the body. The increase in the presence of biogenic amines in food can be attributed to direct contamination by microorganisms or to inappropriate storage conditions of the food. In fact, to prevent the formation of biogenic amines, it is needed to respect the proper times and methods for the conservation of the raw materials used. This study analyses the possible presence of biogenic amines in the raw materials used for dry pet food production through the use of mass spectrometry, capable of identifying molecules present in small quantities. The results show how meat meals have higher concentration of biogenic amines compared to fresh meats, suggesting that the proliferation of microorganisms and the consequent formation of these nitrogen compounds in meat meals is probably due to the low quality of the raw materials used and to their inadequate storage conditions.