Attempted Authentication of Cut Pieces of Chicken Meat from Certified Production Using near Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

The control of the origin of meat is of major interest not only to consumers but also to producers and retailers. The number of poultry meat products with quality marks continues to increase. Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was investigated as a mean of discriminating between “slow-growing” and “industrial” chicken strains. Seventy-two chickens (39 “slow-growing” chickens and 33 “industrial” ones) were analysed using two instruments (NIRSystems 6500 and Perten DA 7000). The NIRSystems 6500 is characterised by a wide wavelength range and a fine resolution of the spectra; the Perten DA 7000 is able to acquire the spectra of whole chicken carcasses within a second. Various cut pieces (leg with skin, breast without skin, carcass with skin and skin) corresponding to commercial products were considered. The performance of the discriminant models developed range between 80% and 100% of correct classification in either the calibration or the validation step. These positive results show that the technique could be integrated in an analytical system of surveillance of certified meat products.