ARS | Publication request: Visible/near-infrared spectroscopy to predict water holding capacity in broiler breast meat

Submitted to: Near Infrared Spectroscopy International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: December 15, 2009
Publication Date: April 18, 2011
Citation: Samuel, D.D., Park, B., Sohn, M., Wicker, L. 2011. Visible/near-infrared spectroscopy to predict water holding capacity in broiler breast meat. Proc. the 14th International Conference on NIR Spectroscopy: 519-522.

Interpretive Summary: The meat industry has increased interest in rapid screening methods for quality control. The spectroscopic measurements are useful for rapid data acquisition and simultaneous determination of several quality parameters, resulting in possibly replacing expensive and slow reference methods. In the poultry industry, good water holding capacity (WHC) is essential in maintaining high yields and avoiding purge. WHC is defined as the ability of fresh meat to retain moisture and directly relates to the juiciness of the meat. One of the major contributors to decreased WHC in the poultry industry has been cited as pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) broiler breast meat. Current methods to estimate WHC are tedious and require off-line testing. Thus, Nondestructive, noninvasive online methods are necessary for better performance. We examined spectroscopic method as a tool for predicting quality parameters including pH, color, and WCH in raw broiler breast.

Technical Abstract: Visible/Near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIRS) was examined as a tool for rapidly determining water holding capacity (WHC) in broiler breast meat. Both partial least squares (PLS) and principal component analysis (PCA) models were developed to relate Vis/NIRS spectra of 85 broiler breast meat samples to WHC, pH, and L* values. Partial least squares modeling resulted in coefficients of determinants (R2) of 0.72, 0.67, and 0.62 for WHC, pH, and L* values, respectively. The mean spectra from the PLS loading plots showed that absorption peaks in the range of 415 to 609 nm and 1,140 and around 1,385 nm (fat, protein band) had the greatest influence on the predictive models. PCA and discriminant analysis showed distinct differences between samples with pH values above and below 5.6. The results showed that Vis/NIRS has the potential to predict water holding capacity in broiler breast meat, which could be relevant to pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) poultry meat.