Choice of instrument and measuring accessories is of key
importance for optimising working conditions (e.g. size of irradiated
surface, signal/noise ratio, depth of light penetration and
speed of analysis) for the collection of high-quality spectra, both
in live pigs during fattening and in whole carcasses after dropping
into hot water (scalding) in order to loosen the hairs for later removal.
High-quality spectra are critical to the subsequent development
of models and calibrations for estimating the various
characteristics enabling pigs or carcasses to be assigned to a given
commercial category.