A comparison of histological and chemical analysis in mechanically separated meat

Abstract

The aim of this study was evaluation of quality of mechanically separated chicken meat (MSCM) samples obtained by three different separators, by means of a histological (qualitative and quantitative) and chemical examination. Histological examinations used Green Trichrome and Alizarine red staining. The examination was focused on the evaluation of muscle, fat, collagenous connective tissue, bone fragment and calcium content and on the degree of damage to the muscle fibres. Chemical analysis was focused on calcium-, fat- and collagenous connective tissue content. The product obtained by the separator 1 (hard separation) gave similar good results to the separator 3 (soft separation), while separator 2 (hard separation) gave worse results as for being bone fragments and calcium content. As demonstrated, the quality of the product obtained by the separator 1 has improved over the years. The results of the histological analysis were in accordance with the results of chemical analysis. For the quantitative determination of collagen, calcium and bone fragments, image analysis was used. In the present study, good correlation between quantitative histological analysis and chemical analysis was observed (0.673, 0.718 and 0.809, α = 0.01).