Contemporary chemical lean determination used in the Australian meat processing industry: A method comparison

Chemical Lean (CL) is defined as the amount of lean red meat compared to the amount of fat in a meat product. CL determination is a mandatory, AUS-MEAT Ltd. prescribed requirement for any bulk packed meat product destined for export. Fifteen methods are approved by AUS-MEAT Ltd., for use in Australian industry. Engagement with Australian meat processors indicated that a range of methods were used for CL measurements in industry, ranging from wet chemical to instrumental based techniques. Meat (consisting of beef, lamb and pork) was used in a method comparison which included Soxhlet fat extraction and microwave moisture analysis, along with instrumental techniques; near infrared reflectance and transmittance, nuclear magnetic resonance and X-Ray. The methods were compared using Passing-Bablok regression, Bland-Altman plot analysis, and robust z-scores, indicating that overall showed that each method performed satisfactorily, suitable for CL determination in the Australian meat industry.