Giorgio Campanini

Lipid and cholesterol oxidation in frozen stored pork, salame Milano and mortadella.

An investigation has been carried out on oxidative processes of fresh and stored frozen pork and of two pork products (salame Milano and mortadella). Wholesale pork cuts (shoulder, ham trimmings, belly and backfat) were checked fresh and after frozen storage (1, 3 and 6 months). The streaky bacon was studied fresh and after scalding at 80 °C. Salame Milano and mortadella were produced with fresh and frozen raw materials and a few commercial samples were also part of the study. No real differences have been observed between commercial and experimentally produced salame and mortadella. Peroxide and TBARS values were low in all cases. Among the cholesterol oxides determined (7β-hydroxycholesterol, 5,6α-epoxycholesterol, 7-ketocholesterol and 25-hydroxycholesterol) those dangerous for human health were either absent or their concentration was below toxic levels. The results are discussed on the light of literature reports and Italian pork products technologies.

Comparative evaluation of some antioxidants in salame Milano and mortadella production.

Six formulations of salame Milano and mortadella were produced, one without antioxidants, two with sodium ascorbate (0.05-0.1 and O.2%), one with catechin, one with phytic acid, and one with sesamol. The products were studied for oxidation levels (peroxide value, TBARS, cholesterol oxides) and colour stability. The evaluation of the latter took place in conditions simulating commercial types of packaging (vacuum and modified atmosphere) and display. A significant difference emerged in colour stability. With the exception of salame Milano packed under modified atmosphere, in all cases salame and mortadella produced without Na ascorbate had significantly lower colour stability. Both in salame and mortadella, peroxide values and TBARS determination gave indications of a possible pro-oxidant effect of ascorbate 0.2% compared with an effective antioxidant activity of the other compounds tested. Cholesterol oxidation in salame appeared to be inhibited by sesamol and ascorbate while catechin was much less effective. In mortadella the prooxidant effect of Na ascorbate was confirmed. All lipid oxidation parameters, though, showed low oxidation values so that no quality nor health deficiencies could be envisaged with any of the formulations adopted. Lower colour stability scores, though, would create commercial problems.

Lean colour of green and matured Parma hams: Comparative evaluation and technological relevance of sensory and objective data

Research has been conducted on the relationship between sensory evaluation and objective measurement of pork colour. The study also investigated the relationship between the colour of fresh meat and the colour of matured hams. Sensory evaluation was carried out at 24 h post mortem on the freshly cut surfaces of green hams trimmed for Parma ham production. Objective measurements were performed at the same time on Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris muscles with a Minolta Chromameter Reflectance II CR200/08. Cold carcass weight, lean content, trimmed ham weight, 45 min and 24 h post mortem pH of Semimembranosus muscle were also recorded. The hams were processed according to Parma ham technology. Weight losses at standard processing times were collected. At the end of processing a sample of about one-third of the hams was evaluated for internal lean colour and lean firmness both by sensory panel and objective measurements. Proximate composition was also determined. The results showed highly significant relationships between colour sensory scores and the coordinates L (∗), b (∗) and hue of the C.I.E. L (∗)a (∗)b (∗) colour system. Among the other parameters measured on fresh meat only 24 h pH was related at a very significant level with sensory and objective colour values. Correlation coefficients were generally higher for Semimembranosus than Biceps femoris. Matured ham colour was linked with fresh meat sensory judgements, L (∗), hue and a (∗) values. The relationship, though, was not sufficiently strong for use in predicting the colour of matured hams from green ham characteristics. Processing appears to have a positive effect on the colour of pale meat. Weight losses were mainly linked with lean meat content; other quality attributes being less important. Lean firmness of matured hams was related to the colour and pH of the fresh meat.

Control of Ribonuclease Activity in the Human Lens during Ageing and Cataract Formation

The activity of alkaline ribonuclease (RNase), of RNase inhibitor and the level of inhibition have been measured in transparent human lenses of different age and in senile cataracts. While a free RNase activity was never found in clinically clear lenses, the level of RNase inhibitor decreases with age and may even be absent in very old lenses. Cataractous lens homogenates have lost the capacity to inhibit exogenous RNase but sufficient inhibitor remains to inactivate a significant fraction of the endogenous enzyme. The level of intralenticular electrolytes has no direct influence on the activity of the RNase inhibitor.

Organochlorine pesticide residues in meat of various species

The quantity of organochlorine pesticides present in pork, rabbit, chicken, turkey and horse meat was determined. Levels of residual pesticide were rather higher in the latter three species than in the former two. They were not closely related to fat content.

Nouvelles frontières de la représentation politique (1936–1945): du Personnalisme communautaire au projet de Adriano Olivetti

SUMMARY From 1936 onwards, after the failure of many existing parliaments in European countries, authors in France and Italy developed ideas for parliamentary systems in which the community, not the individual voter, would be directly represented. Giorgio Campanini compares the key writings on this topic of Emmanuel Mounier, Jacques Maritain and Adriano Olivetti. Whereas Mounier conceived of national and local groups being represented along economic, juridical, educational and other divides, supported by referenda, Maritain laid more emphasis on the forces of production and consumption receiving separate representation. Influenced by his French precursors, the typewriter entrepreneur Olivetti inspired the Italian ‘Communitarian Movement’ with his detailed federal scheme of 1945. It built upon local communities of 75–150,000 inhabitants each, as well as other units representing capital and labour. Although facing situations different from those sixty years later, these three authors tackled the perennial problem of the alienation of the individual voter from the parliamentary system.

Antonio Rosmini and representative institutions

SUMMARY In this article, Georgio Campanini draws attention to the political ideas of the Italian philosopher Antonio Rosmini, who was an active participant in political debate in Italy in the first half of the nineteenth century. The article concentrates on Rosminis most original idea, his insistence that in a representative system of government it is necessary to separate the securing of the political rights of the citizen from the ordinary processes governing the material interests of the society. Rosmini, who was orthodox in advocating an elected representative system, based on tax and property qualifications, to manage the ordinary business of the state, proposed a special institution, a Political Tribunal elected by universal male suffrage, with an open remit to intervene in government to defend the rights of the citizen. He held that the defence of individual rights could not be left safely in the hands of the state, but must be in the hands of independent representatives of every citizen, regardle...