Predicting Aged Beef Tenderness with a Hyperspectral Imaging System

Authors

Lauren M. Grimes, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Govindarajan Konda Naganathan, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jeyamkondan Subbiah, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Chris R. Calkins, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

1-1-2008

Comments

Published in 2008 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report. Copyright © 2007 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

Abstract

A hyperspectral imaging apparatus was developed to predict, at 2-day postmortem, the 14 day aged tenderness of beef. USDA Choice and Select grade longissimus steaks (n = 314) from between the 12th and 13th ribs were scanned at 2 days postmortem, vacuum packaged, aged to 14 days, and frozen. For tenderness determination, steaks were thawed overnight, scanned, cooked in an impingement oven, and slice shear force values were obtained. The model predicted three tenderness categories (tender, intermediate, tough) with 77.1% accuracy, and two tenderness categories (acceptable, tough) with 93.7% accuracy. This hyperspectral imaging system was effective in predicting 14-day aged beef tenderness from 2-day scans.