Muscle and meat: New horizons and applications for proteomics on a farm to fork perspective

Meat consumption is an important part of human diet with strong implications in health, economy and culture worldwide. Meat is a proteinaceous product and therefore proteomics holds a considerable value to the study of the protein events underlying meat production and processing. In this article we will review this subject in an integrated “farm to fork” perspective, i.e. focusing on all the major levels of the meat producing chain: farm, abattoir and transformation industry. We will focus on the use, importance and applications of proteomics, providing clear examples of the most relevant studies in the field. A special attention will be given to meat production, as well as quality control. In the latter, a particular emphasis will be given to microbial safety and the detection of frauds.