Shedding Light on the Subject
Fat content, moisture, protein and collagen composition heavily influence the structure and sensorial properties of meat. Fast and accurate analysis of these elements could lead to improved profitability for meat processors.
Silver Spring, Md.-based Perstorp Analytical Inc., a subsidiary of Tecator AB of Sweden, manufactures the Infratec 1265 Meat Analyzer, a pre-calibrated, near-infrared transmittance analyzer that allows processors to determine the grade of raw meat and control the fat content of meat mixes without chemicals.
Call it a mini-laboratory for a meat processing plant.
Infratec analyzes an entire sample of meat, instead of just the surface, with a penetrating light beam, according to Pontus Nobreus, product specialist for Perstorp. The machine records how much light goes through the sample. Combined with the computer software calibrations, it determines how much fat, protein, collagen and moisture is in the product.
Among Infratec's benefits are: analyzes samples in 90 seconds, as opposed to at least one day when product is sent to independent laboratories; moisture, fat, protein and collagen are simultaneously analyzed; and it can be operated by on-line, production employees.
Among the meat and poultry items Infratec can analyze are beef, pork, chicken, turkey and raw ground meat; cooked, cured and dry sausages; pork, chicken and turkey sausage mixes; ground beef patties; cured ham; cooked meat; and mutton.
Ham and sausage processors particularly benefit from optimal control of protein content, water-binding and product yield, according to Perstorp.
Infratec can also be used for in-plant quality control of finished products for determination of moisture, fat and protein, he adds.
Infratec has the capacity to analyze up to 40 samples an hour, making it possible to accurately and quickly adjust the process. High accuracy and reproducibility independent of sample temperature, salt concentration, packing technique and sample structure are characteristics of Infratec, Nobreus says.
Typical Infratec users improve their control over fat content by 1 percent to 2 percent-which could lead to savings of $10 to $20 a ton, while producing a more consistent product, reports the company.
West Chicago, Ill.-based Otto & Sons, a beef supplier to McDonald's, tested Infratec for fat content determination for about six months. The beef processor rated the analyzer "excellent" in many areas, including accuracy, the ability of the instruments to generate results in real-time production, durability, cost and manufacturer support.
When Otto & Sons put Infratec on-line, the variation in testing final products was cut by 50 percent. Today, Infratec is the standard for Otto & Sons.
By accurately measuring fat content in a 2,300-pound batch of meat during on-line production, Otto & Sons was able to determine where within a batch a sample should be selected that represents the average and what the maximum variation is within a batch. The result: Improved cost formulations that company executives would have thought impossible before Infratec.
"[Processors] can lower costs for raw materials and decrease customer claims," Nobreus stresses. "They can also better control supplies because you know exactly how much goes into each product."
Infratec costs about $90,000, and Nobreus notes that payback could begin within a year, especially if processors are sending samples to independent laboratories.