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Kevin Taukiri, a technician in AgResearch’s Dairy Science and Technology section with the prototype NIR-based
measurement system for meat
Meat assessment, instantly
Instant meat quality assessment is the result of
a four year research project involving twenty
scientists from AgResearch, HortResearch and
international collaborating groups.
The unique near infrared (NIR) measurement system was
developed at the Ruakura campus in Hamilton by AgResearch’s
non-invasive technologies and meat science teams, together
with Dr Carrick Devine of HortResearch.
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The new technology is said to revolutionise the way meat
attributes are measured. “Quality assessment of meat usually
takes hours,” says AgResearch scientist Dr Robert Burling-Claridge,
science leader for the project. “Samples have to be sent to
the lab where, to measure tenderness for instance, they must be
cooked in a defined way before being analysed. Since the process
is destructive and time consuming, only a small percentage
of New Zealand meat products can be assessed. With this new
technology it will be possible to determine the quality of every
single carcase.”
Designed to work in the laboratory as well as in the meat
plant, the prototype NIR measurement system measures meat
tenderness, fat marbling and pH, all of
which influence the eating quality, colour
and shelf-life of meat. Meat being sent to
market will be able to be accurately sorted
and guaranteed, Dr Burling-Claridge says.
Additionally, the rapid data collection will
improve research productivity and reduce
the size and complexity of trials.
The prototype system is a combination
of specific NIR instrumentation, sophisticated
mathematical models and optimised
physical tests. Together, these transform the
NIR light signal into information about meat
quality. The technology effectively combines
advanced research in meat properties
measurement, electronics, optics, engineering
and data processing. Negotiations with
potential commercialisation partners have
begun and the project team hopes to have
a commercial system available to the meat
industry in two years.
Reproduced with kind permission from
AgResearch Now newsletter.
February/March 2009
39