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Brazil stands as one of the world's leading producers of animal protein, ranking sixth in global egg production. However, estimated growth in production demand, along with environmental impacts, represents a potential threat to the sustainability of the food system. Methods for assessing and quantifying the environmental impacts generated by Brazilian egg production remain scarce, lacking current reports on comparative effects or guiding standards. The objective of this study was to conduct a life cycle assessment from cradle to farm gate, adhering to ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, for the battery cage egg production systems and associated products in Brazil, with the aim of supporting and promoting sustainability improvements in the Brazilian egg industry. The entire life cycle modeling and process sustainability analysis were executed using the openLCA software, integrated with the Ecoinvent database. Emissions related to egg production yielded results of 65.06 kg SO 2 eq., 27.74 kg N eq., 3086.71 kg CO 2 eq., 75,152.66 CTUe, 2.75 × 10 -5 CFC-11 eq., and 10,044.68 kg MJ eq. per ton of eggs produced. These findings can serve as comparative benchmarks for future studies and for analyzing data across different egg production systems in Brazil.

The use of sensor technologies to monitor cows' behavior is becoming commonplace in the context of dairy production. This study aimed at validating a commercial collar-based sensor system, the AFICollar ® (Afimilk, Kibbutz Afikim, Israel), designed to monitor dairy cattle feeding and ruminating behavior. Additionally, the performances of two versions of the software for behavior classification, the current software AFIfarm ® 5.4 and the updated version AFIfarm ® 5.5, were compared. The study involved twenty Holstein-Friesian cows fitted with the collars. To evaluate the sensor performance under different feeding scenarios, the animals were divided into four groups and fed three different types of feed (total mixed ration, long hay, animals allowed to graze). Recordings of hourly rumination and feeding time produced by the sensor were compared with visual observation by scan sampling at 1 minute intervals using Spearman correlation, concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), Bland-Altman plots and linear mixed models for assessing the precision and accuracy of the system. The analyses confirmed that the updated software version V5.5 produced better detection performance than the current V5.4. The updated software version produced high correlations between visual observations and data recorded by the sensor for both feeding (r = 0.85, CCC = 0.86) and rumination (r = 0.83, CCC = 0.86). However, the limits of agreement for both behaviors remained quite wide (feeding: -19.60 min/h, 17.46 min/h; rumination: -15.80 min/h, 15.00 min/h). Type of feed did not produce significant effects on the agreement between visual observations and sensor recordings. Overall, the results indicate that the system can provide farmers with adequately accurate data on feeding and rumination time, and can be used to support herd management decisions. Despite all this, the precision of the system remained relatively limited, and should be improved with further developments in the classification algorithm.

Frankfurter-type sausages (called sausages) were manufactured using Cinta Senese meat. Two different formulations were considered: (i) nitrite and nitrate as curing agents (NIT), (ii) natural mixture (NAT) totally replacing the synthetic curing agents. Microbiological, chemical, and physical characteristics during three different storage times (7, 30, 60 days) were investigated, while sensorial traits were evaluated at the end of the period. The main foodborne pathogens ( Escherichia coli , Listeria monocytogenes , coagulase positive Staphylococcus spp., Salmonella spp., total bacterium at 30 °C) were absent in both sausage groups. Both types of sausage had a high content of fat probably due to the high intramuscular fat of the local breed. The fatty acid composition of NAT sausages would seem slightly less efficient in the lipid oxidation control. Regarding color parameters, NIT sausages showed greater lightness and redness, while NAT ones were more yellow, thanks to the effect of nitrate on color. All texture parameters resulted higher in NIT, except for the springiness. Storage time mainly affected total microbial count, pH, and color. The addition of natural extract changed the perception of some sensorial properties above all in terms of taste and odor. Natural extract represented an alternative to synthetic additives in Cinta Senese sausages even if some attributes could be improved., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.