A Comparison of Methods for Determining the Fat Content of Broiler Carcasses

Abstract

Three hundred broilers were analyzed for fat and moisture content of the ground eviscerated carcasses. Fat was determined on a wet weight basis by the Goldfisch ether extraction method and by the Banco fat test. The mean fat content as determined by the Banco fat test was 1.5% to 1.7% less than the ether extractable solids content determined by Goldfisch fat extraction. Although the Banco method gave smaller values, it had the advantage of less variation between triplicate samples (i.e., greater precision). Correlations between the Banco and ether extraction methods were high (r = .89 to .95). Moisture had a high negative correlation (r = −.87 to −.90) with ether extractable solids content of the ground broiler carcasses. Linear regression equations were calculated for the prediction of ether extractable solids content from the percentage fat determined by the Banco test or calculated from moisture content. A comparison of the methods by cost, time involved, accuracy, and precision suggests that the Banco method is a feasible choice for a laboratory which must determine the fat content of a large number of meat samples in a minimum amount of time.