Combustion method for determination of crude protein in meat and meat products: collaborative study

Twelve laboratories participated in a collaborative study to compare a combustion method with the AOAC mercury catalyst Kjeldahl method (928.08) for the determination of crude protein in meat and meat products. Three different combustion instruments were used; consequently, the combustion method for this study is written in generic terms describing the principle, the apparatus specifications, and the performance requirements needed. Fifteen sample pairs were used for the study; each pair consisted of the same commercial meat product from each of 2 different manufacturers. Protein content of all samples ranged from about 10 to 20%. In addition, nicotinic acid and lysine monohydrochloride were used as standards to assess combustion equipment performance. All laboratories and all instruments performed the combustion method satisfactorily on the basis of results for the standards. For the meat samples, repeatability standard deviations (Sr) ranged from 0.11 to 0.40 for the Kjeldahl method and from 0.12 to 0.41 for the combustion method; the repeatability relative standard deviations (RSDr) ranged from 0.82 to 2.41% and from 0.60 to 2.23% for the Kjeldahl and combustion methods, respectively. Reproducibility standard deviations (SR) ranged from 0.20 to 0.49 for the Kjeldahl method and from 0.18 to 0.46 for the combustion method, whereas the reproducibility relative standard deviations (RSDR) ranged from 1.59 to 2.84% for the Kjeldahl method and from 1.32 to 3.35% for the combustion method. Overall grand means were 15.59% protein for the Kjeldahl method and 15.75% protein for the combustion method. The combustion method was adopted first action by AOAC International.