Intramuscular fat content and composition of ruminants
depend on factors such as the genetic origin of the animals
,feeding regime, age or live weigh and influence the final quality of the product,
which explains the increasing interest in defining the FA
profile of meat from different production systems.
Typical methods used for FA determination are destructive
and time-consuming. Moreover, they can be expensive
and generate waste products of concern. The use of near
infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is increasing used in food
analysis because it offers some advantages over conventional
methods giving fast, non-destructive, clean and cost
effective measurements .
By constructing calibration models between NIRS spectra
and chemical or quality tests, the NIRS technique can offer
an accurate prediction of some complex quality attributes.
More specifically, physico-chemical and organoleptic
scores which allows delivery of real-time quality parameters
before production is completed.