Meat Science Commons^™

Prediction Of The Tenderness Of Cooked Poultry Pectoralis Major Muscles By Near-Infrared Reflectance Analysis Of Raw Meat, Bradley R. Cheatham

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Tenderness in boneless poultry breast meat is of utmost importance to consumers. However, there is currently no nondestructive method to predict poultry breast meat tenderness. Textural properties of poultry breast meat were predicted by near-infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy. Spectra were collected on 390 poultry Pectoralis major muscles from broiler carcasses to examine the correlation between NIR spectroscopy and the Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS) test. Two instrumental parameters (maximum shear force and total shear energy) were used as estimates of meat tenderness. Calibration (R2 cal) and validation (r2 val) coefficients of determination were used for predicting instrumental measurements using the reflectance, …