Assessment of Meat Content and Foreign Object Detection in Cattle Meatballs Using Ultrasonography, Radiography, and...

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Non-destructive Testing
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Detecting internal meat content and foreign contaminants in processed foods like meatballs is challenging with conventional methods.
• Ensuring the safety and quality of meat products requires reliable analytical techniques for internal defect detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate ultrasonography (USG), digital radiography (DR), and electrical impedance tomography (EIT) for analyzing cattle meatball composition.
• To detect physically hazardous foreign objects within meatballs using these non-destructive imaging modalities.

Main Methods:

• Meatballs were prepared with varying meat content (0-75%) and preservatives (control, borax, formalin).
• Cast iron and plastic beads were embedded as foreign object models.
• USG, DR, and EIT were employed to assess echogenicity, opacity, and resistivity.

Main Results:

• DR effectively determined meat content and detected iron-based foreign objects.
• EIT indicated higher resistivity for embedded iron and plastic beads compared to the meat matrix.
• USG distinguished between preservative treatments but failed to differentiate meat content or detect foreign objects.

Conclusions:

• DR and EIT show promise for non-destructive quality control and contaminant detection in meatballs.
• USG is less effective for assessing internal meat composition and foreign object identification in this context.
• Advanced imaging techniques are crucial for enhancing safety and quality assurance in the meat processing industry.