2.7. Statistical analysis
After slaughtering the M. Iliofibularis from each carcass (n = 16) was sliced into 18 steaks and stored under three different packaging regimes. Observations were made on day 0 and then every second day up to day 10.
Univariate split-plot analysis of variance was performed, for each day and for each treatment, on all variables using the GLM (General Linear Models) Procedure of SAS statistical software version 9.1 (SAS/STAT Users Guide, Version 8, First Edition, Volume 2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary: NC, USA). For the analysis of variance with treatment as the sub-plot factor, observations over time were also combined in a split–split plot analysis of variance with day as sub–sub-plot factor. A Shapiro–Wilk test was performed to test for normality. Student’s t-least significant differences were calculated at the 5% level to compare treatment means. A probability level of 5% was considered significant for all significance tests.
Pearson correlation coefficients (r-value at the 5% level (P)) were calculated using XLStat (Addinsoft, Paris). All the variables from the pooled data over the entire shelf life for each individual variable were tested for correlation.