ABSTRACT
Spectral scattering is a promising technique for nondestructive and rapid assessment of meat quality and safety. Meat quality can be defined in terms of consumers’ appreciation of texture and flavor, and safety, which includes the health implications of both composition and microbiological contamination. The main parameters of meat quality and safety are lean-to-fat ratio, protein, marbling, tenderness, water content, drip loss, pH, juiciness, etc. The content and distribution of fat, water, protein, and other compositional parameters affect the structural characteristics of meat. The scattering characteristics vary across different regions of animal carcasses, depending on the density and structural properties of meat, such as sarcomere length and collagen. Spectral scattering in the muscle tissue is related to the morphology and refractive index of the muscle tissue composition. These muscle tissue structures are the primary contributor to meat texture, and they also influence the light scattering characteristics of meat. The pattern and amount of light scattering and propagation depends on factors such as wavelength of the incident light and physical and chemical properties of meat samples. Chapter 11 gives a detailed description on how light propagation is related to the meat muscle structure and its change during postmortem aging. The spatial profile of diffusely reflected light depends on the scattering of light inside the meat sample as shown in Figure 11.1. Generally, meat quality and safety parameters are mainly affected by the muscle tissue structures and their chemical composition. Therefore, spectral scattering techniques have attracted significant attention due to the great potential for meat quality and safety detection.
