Assessment of intramuscular fat level and distribution in beef muscles using X-ray microcomputed tomography

In the present research, the X-ray microtomography (muCT) technique was used to quantify intramuscular fat content and to study fat distribution in different breeds and commercial meat joints. Two different breeds, Podolian vs. Charolaise, chosen to exhibit variability in terms of visible structure of fat, were used. High Pearson correlation coefficients (r=0.92-0.99, P<0.001) were found between fat content, expressed as percentage object volume (POV) determined by muCT and fat content analysed by an official method. Useful information was provided from quantitative three-dimensional parameters describing the fat structure, such as the structure model index (SMI), the object structure/ volume ratio (OSVR) and the structure separation (SS). Charolaise breed showed higher POV and SS (P<0.01) values than Podolian. X-ray microtomography allows a rapid estimation of intramuscular fat of meat and provides a more accurate description of the fat microstructure and meat quality.