University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2017 Authenticity and Quality of Muscle Foods: Assessing Consumer Trust and Fraud Detection Approaches Salih, Salih Mustafa http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10384 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on the condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. Authenticity and Quality of Muscle Foods: Assessing Consumer Trust and Fraud Detection Approaches by Salih Mustafa Salih A thesis submitted to Plymouth University in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Biological and Marine Sciences Faculty of Science and Engineering November 2017 Acknowledgements All praises are due to my Lord “Allah” the creator of everything; who gave me the strength, knowledge and patience to overcome all difficulties. “Who does not thank people, does not thank God” Prophet Mohammed (SAW). On the accomplishment of the present study, I would like to extend my deepest sense of gratitude and words of appreciation towards those, who dedicated their today for my tomorrow. I am greatly thankful to Plymouth University for giving me the opportunity to pursue and submit my PhD research. In this context I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to Dr. Victor Kuri (Director of Studies) for his invaluable advice, suggestions and firm support that helped me to overcome many tough moments. Without his support and contribution this work would not have been completed. I want to thank Dr. Mairi Knight (Second Supervisor) for her support and encouragement. I extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Carly Benefer (Third Supervisor), for her tremendous help, support and useful comments. Special thanks are extended to the technical staff Liz Preston, Natalie Sweet, in Nutrition lab. I appreciate the technical assistance of the Laboratory Technicians at the Davy building especially Andy Fisher and those in Molecular lab. I would like to appreciate the help received from Dr Roy Moate, Peter Bond and Glenn Harper at the electron microscopy centre - Plymouth University. I would like to express my deep thanks to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research- Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for financing the scholarship through the HCDP that has enabled me to complete this thesis. I I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my beloved family members (parents, brothers and sisters) who helped me to grow, learn and develop my personality and who have being a source of encouragement and spiritual inspiration to me throughout my life. To my lovely wife, I will always appreciate your long-standing company through my study despite the distance far away from the family and your respectful patience in this long journey. Each member in my family has been a great support to me. Your love, encouragement, prayers made it possible for me to finish this thesis and makes me feel that I am never alone. Now, I am back to my beloved family Inshahallah for ever! I would like to express my thankful to all the teachers and lecturers that taught and brought me to this point through the entire of my study in particular the staff at the College of Agriculture- Salahaddin University-Hawler- Kurdistan. Thanks are due to Professor Waleed Murani and Dr. Samad Sofy for their support and sharing their experience with me. Special thanks to Dr. Sameer, Karzan, Ayub and Yaseen for their valuable advices and help during the collection and preparation of fish samples in Erbil- Kurdistan. Thanks are also extended to Calvin Hopkins for his support during the focus group discussions. I am very grateful to my colleagues in the UK, in no particular order: Masoud, Dler, Bahroz, Rebaz, Ranj, Bashdar, Niezy, Rizgar, Rebin, Nawzad, Abdullah, Hassan, Wuria, Sarheng, Kamaran, Said Ameer, Saida Tahir, and Jamal for their support, advice, and friendship. Finally, I would like to thank to all the individuals who have in any way been associated with the completion of this work but have not been mentioned so far. Salih Mustafa Salih, November 2017 II Dedication My thesis is dedicated to: 1- My beloved family in particular my lovely father (Mustafa) and mother (Iqlayma), my wonderful brothers (Jubrail, Abdullah, Muhammed, Farznda and Salman) and sisters (Nazira, Samira, Zainab and Maghbool) whose loves, encouragements, and with the fincancial support that make me through the tough times and allowed to complete this thesis. 2- My lovely wife (Kewyar) for all help, support and encouragements offered during the completion of this thesis and in daily life along these years, and giving me the incredible joy of taking care of me and my little sweet son (Shad). 3- The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Kurdistan-Iraq, and the College of Agriculture- Salahaddin University. 4- People interested in Food Authenticity and Quality. 5- All Peshmerga who are defending Kurdistan and those who passed away and dedicated their lives to our beloved country “Kurdistan”. III Author’s Declaration At no time during the registration for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has the author been registered for any other University award without prior agreement of the Graduate Committee. Work submitted for this research degree at Plymouth University has not formed part of any other degree either at Plymouth University or at another establishment. This study was financed with the aid of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) – Iraq, through the Human Capacity Development Program (HCDP) scholarship. A programme of advanced study was undertaken, which included a course in Postgraduate research skills and methods (BIO 5124), Principles and application of electron microscopy (BIO 5102), and an attendance on some sessions about food safety and quality (DIET 107) as well as on molecular ecology (BIOL 203/8). Relevant scientific seminars and conferences were attended at which work was presented. Word count of main body of thesis: 61,828 words Signed ……………………………………. Date ………………………………………. IV Paper presented at conference- oral presentations 1- Salih M. S. and Kuri, V. 2014. Investigating consumers’ attitudes toward kebab meat products using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Postgraduate society conference series Plymouth University. Plymouth, UK. 19th March 2013. 2- Salih M. S. and Kuri, V. 2014. The effects of inclusion of inulin on the physiochemical, eating quality, and cooking properties of doner kebab meat. Centre for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability (CARS) 5th PG Symposium 2014 - BBSRC North Wyke Experimental Station– Rothamsted Research, Okehampton - UK. 06/06/2014. Paper presented at conference- poster presentations 3- Salih M. S. and Kuri, V. 2014. The effects of inclusion of inulin on the physiochemical, eating quality, and cooking properties of doner kebab meat. 28th EFFoST Conference, Uppsala, Sweden 25-28 November 2014. 4- Salih M. S., Benefer, C. Knight, M. and Kuri, V. 2016. Fish labelling at commercial markets in the Kurdistan Region- Iraq: Application of DNA barcoding for fish authentication. 4th ISEKI_Food Conference, Vienna, Austria 6-8 July 2016. 5- Salih M. S. and Kuri, V. 2016. Applications of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the authentication origin of wild and farm common carp (Cyprinus carpio). 4th ISEKI_Food Conference, Vienna, Austria 6-8 July 2016. V VI Salih Mustafa Salih Authenticity and quality of muscle foods: Assessing consumer trust and fraud detection approaches Abstract Authenticity issues and fraudulent practices regarding animal products are affecting consumer confidence. Verifying the description, composition, processing or origin of foods can be challenging. To explore British and Kurdish consumers’ perceptions of kebab meat products, focus groups and questionnaire surveys were applied. About 40% of participants in the UK tend to purchase fewer processed meats after the European horsemeat scandal. Issues raised by participants indicated their concerns about the declaration of species, meat content, and other ingredients incorporated in kebab and other meat products. Lack of consumer trust has been linked to authenticity issues. Reactions towards the addition of fat-replacing inulin were positive by more than half of respondents. A further study aimed to investigate the effect of commercial inulin (CI) and Jerusalem artichoke (JA) tubers as fat replacers on the eating quality and overall acceptability of kebabs. Inulin flour prepared from JA by a simple protocol presented advantages with about 10% higher cooking yield and overall acceptability when compared with CI. Levels of inulin as low as 0.5% were detected in meat products using enzymatic assay, which could be relevant to detect additives and enforce labelling requirements. The authenticity (origin and species) was investigated in fish samples from commercial markets in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq