On-line measurement of meat quality

Some of the promising and widely examined approaches used to improve meal quality assessment and quantification are discussed. It is legal requirement within the EU to use authorized methods for the prediction of the lean meat percentage of pig carcases in any plant slaughtering more than 200 pigs per week. The use of Video Image analysis (VIA) on the cut surface of the longissimus muscle has a potential to assess color and marbling of meats. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grading operates a voluntary grading system at ribbing which is conducted in a chiller at 24 to 72 hours post-mortem. Meat Standards Australia (MSA) system is based on relationships established between the various treatments and consumer scores using a very large consumer evaluation of cuts.