The determination of beef tenderness using near-infrared spectroscopy

The prediction of beef tenderness was studied using near-infrared spectroscopy. The absorption spectra of beef samples were collected between 4000 and 10000 cm(-1), the maximum shear force of these samples was obtained using the Warner-Bratzler attachment, and subjective judgment for the tenderness grade of beef was studied. Beef samples with the maximum shear force less than 6 kg were regarded as tender, and their tenderness grade was defined as the value of 1. Those with the maximum shear force greater than 9 kg were regarded as tough, and their tenderness grade was defined as the value of 3. And those with the maximum shear force between 6 and 9 kg were regarded as medium, and their tenderness grade was defined as the value of 2. The study shows that the absorption value of tougher beef is generally higher than that of tender beef. Multiple linear regression was used to build the model between the absorption value and tenderness grade. The results give the correlation coefficient r is 0.806. The accuracy of the model for predicting tenderness grade of beef was 84.21% for a validation set including 19 samples. This result indicates that NIR spectroscopy is capable of predicting tenderness grade of beef.