Evaluation of lamb meat safety for meat snack production after the use of the feed supplement “Lactuvet-1” in animal diets

This paper presents the results of experiments aimed at determining the content of heavy metals in the muscle tissue of lambs, whose diet included the feed additive "LaktuVet-1", as well as the safety parameters of the developed food product. The meat was analyzed for the content of toxic elements (arsenic, lead, cadmium). The levels of arsenic and cadmium did not exceed the established standards, constituting less than 0.01 mg/kg in both the experimental and control groups. The lead level in the experimental group was 0.02 mg/kg, while in the control group it was 0.03 mg/kg, which complied with regulatory requirements. A recipe for the production of meat snacks from the experimental meat raw material was developed. The recipe is as follows: lamb meat — 100 kg, table salt — 1800 g, nitrite salt (0.6%) — 1000 g, white sugar — 200 g, starter cultures "Prestart FB SAZ" — 30 g, soy sauce — 1000 g, black pepper — 100 g, ascorbic acid — 50 g. The processes of production and drying of the meat snacks are described. The active acidity (pH) values of the meat were measured depending on the duration of salting. The data showed that the marinating process of lamb meat effectively reduced its pH; the value decreased from 6.03 to 5.53, which indicates a positive effect of the marinade on improving the preservation characteristics of the meat. The microbiological indicators of the meat-containing snacks were also analyzed. The test results demonstrated the absence of pathogenic microorganisms (Salmonella spp., E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, sulfite-reducing clostridia, Staphylococcus aureus) and compliance with the established sanitary and hygienic standards, which confirms the high safety of the final product.