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. 2022 Apr 22;11(9):1219.
doi: 10.3390/foods11091219.

In-Line Estimation of Fat Marbling in Whole Beef Striploins (Longissimus lumborum) by NIR Hyperspectral Imaging. A Closer Look at the Role of Myoglobin

Jens Petter Wold  1 , Lars Erik Solberg  1 , Mari Øvrum Gaarder  1 , Mats Carlehøg  1 , Karen Wahlstrøm Sanden  1 , Rune Rødbotten  1
Affiliations

In-Line Estimation of Fat Marbling in Whole Beef Striploins (Longissimus lumborum) by NIR Hyperspectral Imaging. A Closer Look at the Role of Myoglobin

Jens Petter Wold et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Fat marbling, the amount, and distribution of intramuscular fat, is an important quality trait for beef loin (Longissimus lumborum) and is closely connected to sensory properties such as tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. For meat producers, it would be of value to grade and sort whole loins according to marbling on the production line. The main goal of this study was to evaluate high-speed NIR hyperspectral imaging in interaction mode (760-1047 nm) for in-line measurement of sensory assessed marbling in both intact loins and loin slices. The NIR system was calibrated based on 28 whole striploins and 412 slices. Marbling scores were assessed for all slices on a scale from 1 to 9 by a trained sensory panel. The calibrated NIR system was tested for in-line measurements on 30 loins and 60 slices at a commercial meat producer. Satisfactory accuracy for prediction of marbling was obtained by partial least squares regression for both slices and whole loins (R2 = 0.81 & 0.82, RMSEP = 0.95 & 0.88, respectively). The concentration of myoglobin in the meat and its state of oxygenation has a strong impact on the NIR spectra and can give deviations in the estimated marbling scores. This must be carefully considered in industrial implementation.

Keywords: NIR spectroscopy; beef loin; fat marbling; hyperspectral imaging; in-line; myoglobin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Two samples of whole striploins and belonging slices (right). Cutting pattern on upper loin was used for the calibration data set. Cutting pattern on lower loin was used for the test set. All cut slices were measured with NIR. Fat content was determined in shaded slices. Sensory scoring of marbling was done on all slices in calibration set and for the shaded slices in test set.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Reference slices for fat marbling. Scores 1 (left), 5 (middle) and 9 (right).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relation between sensorial fat marbling scores and IMF for sliced loin steaks.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) NIR calibration spectra from loin slices. Colorbar indicates marbling scores for the slices. (b) NIR spectra from light and dark beef, including difference spectrum. (c) Spectral effects of blooming—oxygenation of myoglobin.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Relation between NIR fat estimates for intact loins and average fat estimates for the loin slices.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Predicted versus sensory assessed marbling scores in (a) single slices and (b) entire loins.
Figure 7
Figure 7
NIR estimated marbling scores over time for fat (blue) and lean (orange) loin slice.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Images of estimated fat marbling in entire loins aligned with sensory assessed marbling in slices from the same loins. Colorbar indicates predicted marbling scores at pixel level.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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