An infrared spectroscopic method for the rapid simultaneous determination of fat and moisture in meat and meat products

Abstract

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of fat and moisture in fresh meat and meat products by cold extraction of both of these constituents into a known volume of solvent consisting of trichloroethylene plus methanol, followed by measurement of the infrared reflectance of the solution at the wavelengths at which fat and water absorb radiation. Multiple attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (multiple ATR) is used to make the infrared measurements and the advantages of this technique over conventional transmission spectrophotometry are discussed.

The rapidity of the method (approximately 5 min per determination of both fat and water on a weighed sample) compensates for its slightly lower degree of precision in comparison with conventional methods, and makes it particularly suitable for use in process control.