ABSTRACT
It is readily apparent that the composition of these species varies considerably, and even within one species wide variations occur. Although meat is defi ned as the edible portion of the fl esh of these species, this defi nition is open to very wide interpretation, and given the cost of meat compared to many other foods, accurate, reliable, and rapid means of analysis are of paramount importance for obvious economic reasons: Fat is considerably cheaper than striated muscle, which
itself can vary quite markedly in eating quality and thus cost. Th e price diff erential between a high-quality grilling meat such as beef fi llet (psoas major) or sirloin (longissimus dorsi) and the shin and neck muscles of cattle can be as much as a factor of 3 or 4. Although the defi nition normally refers to the musculature of the species, it is often widened to include organs such as the liver, kidneys, brains, and other edible tissues.
