A Hand-held Device for Non-invasive Assessment of Beef Quality

• Author / Creator

  Samanta, Saranyu S

• Quantification of important biochemical (e.g. intramuscular fat content, toughness) properties of beef m. longissimus thorasis (LT) using technologies of optical spectroscopy and digital image analysis was examined in this thesis research. The main objective of this thesis work focused on the instrumentation of such technologies for industrial application. Effects of biochemical properties on optical spectroscopy and digital image analyzed results were investigated. Separate analyses with visible and near infrared light spectroscopy and image processing revealed the true potential of those technologies individually. Statistical analyses were performed to identify various correlations that are significant enough to quantify those biochemical properties effectively. Design and performance of a hand-held prototype device incorporating optical spectroscopy technology were tested to evaluate the possibilities of industrial application. Experimentation with hand-held device obtained equivalent results to that found by visible light spectroscopy using a commercial spectrophotometer. Visible light spectroscopy was significantly affected by various color components (e.g. Lab*, RGB) of lean meat color in a multidimensional way. This affected the consistency and reliability of the quantification of biochemical properties of beef using visible light. However, near infrared light spectroscopy showed potential to be used as a possible method of quantification of various biochemical properties of beef. Partial least square analysis of near infrared spectroscopy data showed consistency with R2 values between 0.65 to 0.80 to estimate intramuscular fat content and toughness of beef LT muscle. Addition of a polarizer increased the accuracy of beef toughness estimation by 20% using near infrared light. These results indicated that near infrared light spectroscopy has the potential to be utilized in a hand-held device for industrial application.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Hand-held
  • Assessement
  • LED-Spectroscopy
  • Device
  • Spetroscopy
  • Beef
  • Non-invasive
  • Quality

• Graduation date

  Fall 2014

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3NS0M60T

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.