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Meat Safety Hazards Identified

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization convened a group of 24 experts from 15 countries to discuss food safety hazards associated with cultivated meat. The meeting, which was held in Singapore, concluded: “While the science and applications are wholly new, existing preventative measures and safety assurance tools will be applicable to control such hazards.”

During the three-day meeting, the experts who came from a variety of public and private companies and organizations determined that cultivated foods “run the same risks as with conventionally produced food; the occurrence of microbiological contamination, chemical residues or by-products during production of processing.”

The experts also added that microbial contamination during culture would inhibit cell growth during the production process. Therefore, if the cells have grown and reached product expectations for harvest, that means that contamination did not occur. But, they added, contamination could still occur post-harvest, as in any other food product. During this global consultation on cell-based food with a specific focus on food safety considerations, the technical panel also noted the need for determining appropriate terminology for this type of food can have a significant impact on consumer perception and relevant regulatory requirements such as labeling.

Reproductive Hormones Found to Impact Gut Microbiota

by Maureen Hanson, Bovine Veterinarian

Increasing awareness of the importance of microbial populations in proper functioning of various body systems led a group of Chinese researchers to explore what, if any, influence the use of reproductive hormones has on the gut microbiota of cattle.

Researchers at Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China, recently explored whether the bacterial population in the intestine of grazing Simmental cattle changed over the course of estrous synchronization for breeding.

Their study, published in the journal Animals , evaluated 14 postpartum Simmental cows on a fixed-time AI protocol. The researchers noted that there is a large amount of researchbased evidence that shifts occur in the vaginal and uterine microbiota during estrous synchronization. But changes in the intestinal microbiota in cattle undergoing synchronization had never been studied previously.

They hypothesized that changes in the intestinal microbiota occur during estrous synchronization, and that these shifts are caused by reproductive hormones.

The breeding protocol consisted of placing an intravaginally controlled internal drug release (CIDR) device containing 1.9 g of progesterone on Day 0, which was accompanied by a 5-mL intramuscular injection of vitamin A/D/E. The CIDR was removed on Day 9, at which time each animal received three intramuscular injections of cloprostenol at a dose of 0.2 mg prostaglandin F2 per injection. Fixed-time AI then was performed on all animals on Day 12.

Blood and fecal samples were collected prior to treatment on the same d ays. Blood samples were monitored for seven reproductive hormones: estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (PROG), prolactin (PRL), and oxytocin (OT).

Fecal samples underwent DNA extraction to monitor microbial populations for both quantity and diversity over time. A total of 30 intestinal organisms were studied.

The researchers found: n Systemic increases in estrogen (E2) were strongly correlated with higher abundance and diversity of organisms in the intestinal microbiota, confirming earlier research showing the intestinal microbiota is a principal regulator of systemic estrogen. n Induction of estrus resulted in an increase in intestinal microbiota function in the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and fatty acid elongation in the mitochondria. n The reproductive hormones FSH, LH, PROG, PRL, and OT correlated with some biomarkers of the intestinal microbiota of the host. A similar relationship was not observed for GnRH, but the authors said this may be due to the fact that GnRH is produced in the hypothalamus only, or that there is no receptor for it in the intestinal microbiota. n Intestinal microbiota changed significantly during conception. n The functions of both metabolism and immunity were enriched in the intestinal microbiota during estrous synchronization.

The researchers stated the microbiota, especially in the intestine, coexists with the host for mutually beneficial purposes, and is now considered a virtual organ, with properties that are integral to the host’s endocrine, metabolic, and immune systems.

They said, based on their results, some nutrition- and immune-enhancing strategies could be applied during estrous synchronization. However, they noted that before such measures were taken for lactating dairy cows, more research would need to be done with that population specifically, because their hormone profile, particularly related to prolactin, would be different than that of the animals in this study.

Melatonin Improves Growth Performance, Research Suggests

by Fred Miller, Bovine Veterinarian

An animal scientist at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station has shown that a common and inexpensive hormone additive may mitigate the ill effects on growth performance of calves born to cows grazed on endophyteinfected fescue pastures during gestation.

Brittni Littlejohn, assistant professor of animal science for the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said fescue is the most common coolseason forage in the southeastern US, including Arkansas. Most of that fescue is infected with endophyte fungus, which is beneficial to the grass, but produces ergot alkaloids, organic compounds in plants that are toxic to grazing animals.

The US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service ranks Arkansas 11 th in the nation in beef cows that have calved and beef cow replacement heifers, according to the 2022 Arkansas Agricultural Profile published by the Division of Agriculture. Farm cash receipts for cattle and calves totaled $426 million in 2020, according to the profile.

Littlejohn said fescue toxicosis restricts blood flow in animals that eat the infected grass. Her lab recently showed that pregnant cows consuming toxic fescue seed have decreased uterine artery blood flow that potentially reduces nutrient supply to bovine fetuses during gestation.

Calves born under these conditions are underweight, Littlejohn said. Calves in her study were on average about 90 pounds underweight at weaning. Low weight continues as the calves grow and the differences are maintained through the yearling stage, she added.

Fescue growth and concentrations of ergot alkaloids, the toxic compounds in endophyte fungus, peak twice a year, Littlejohn said. Toxicity concentrates as the grass matures and produces seed, and some beef producers avoid the problem by keeping their pregnant cows off fescue pastures during those times. But few producers have that option.

Littlejohn and her collaborators investigated the effects of adding melatonin to supplemental feed for pregnant cows consuming endophyte-infected fescue seed during toxic phases in the pasture grass. Melatonin is a natural product found in plants and animals. In animals, it is released by the pineal gland and is believed to be associated with sleep-wake cycles.

Littlejohn added melatonin to feed containing toxic fescue seed during mid- to late-gestation for test subjects at the Savoy Research Complex Stocker Unit. Other animals received toxic fescue seed without melatonin or were fed only endophyte-free fescue as control subjects to measure the impact of the melatonin. Test subjects at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s S avoy Research Complex were fed in a precision agriculture controlled feeding system.

The melatonin additive tended to improve birth weights and significantly improved weaning and post-weaning weights of calves whose dams consumed toxic fescue during gestation, Littlejohn said. “We were able to recover over 70% of the loss in weaning weight by treating pregnant heifers with melatonin.”

Littlejohn stressed that the melatonin was added only to the diets of pregnant heifers during a 70-day window of gestation and not to the calves. But the calves benefitted from the addition to their mothers’ diets with improved weight gain throughout their development. “The calves are yearlings now and still showing benefits based on how you treat the mothers,” Littlejohn said.

Littlejohn said her data so far is still preliminary. She has submitted a grant proposal to the US Department of Agriculture for a National Institute of Food and Agriculture seed grant to continue gathering data. “We need to replicate the study to build up the data and confirm our results,” she said.

(Continued on page 60)

Sarah Jones, Red Hill Farms, Named Farm Woman of the Year by Kentucky Farm Bureau

The Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) named Sarah Jones, Allen County, the 2022 KFB Farm Woman of the Year. The award honors outstanding achievement of a woman actively engaged in production agriculture. Recipients personify the highest level of professional excellence in agriculture.

Jones has also been a leader in numerous agriculture-related organizations, including serving as the Young Farmer Co-Chair, member of the Allen County Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors, county Women’s Chair, Secretary/Treasurer of Allen County Farm Bureau Federation, and on numerous committees. She was also recognized as a runner-up for the 2021 KFB Farm Woman of the Year award.

As an active agriculture and safety advocate, she has led the now-annual tradition of 250 Allen County fourth-grade students attending Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day at Western Kentucky University since 2013. n