MEASURING MUSCLE COLOR IN BEEF USING AN INSTRUMENTAL METHOD VERSUS VISUAL COLOR SCALES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Color of sirloin in 60 intact young bulls of the Pirenaica breed was studied with a view to grading the meat quality of the beef. The correlation between visual evaluation of color with the use of reference standards and instrumental color measurements were analyzed. Use of reference standards in the visual evaluation of beef color yielded visual assessment results in an objective, reproducible and closely correlated with the instrumental values. Overall, classification of the muscle samples was the same using both the visual and instrumental methods in 83% of cases. The results showed that objective systems for evaluating meat color can be developed from either visual evaluation using reference standards or instrumental measurements. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Reference standards produced visual appraisals of beef color that were closely correlated to the color coordinates L*a*b*, and these instrumental measurements could be useful (to give support to) color assessors. Both visual assessment aided by reference standards and instrumental measurements are appropriate and objective systems for meat color evaluation. They may prove to be useful for meat packing plants that sell carcasses piecemeal.