3.2. Measurements of back fat thickness and muscle thickness
Within 45 min from the moment of the slaughter, the 145 selected
animals were weighed, split into halves and hung on a separate line.
There, four experienced classifiers, coming from different slaughterhouses,
carried out the measurements of the back fat thickness and
muscle thickness, according to a pre-established rotation schedule.
The classifiers worked in pairs: on each selected carcass, one classifier
performed the measurements with one probe and immediately after
that another classifier performed the measurements with the other
probe. Over 11 days of measurements, the classifiers and devices alternated
so that the classifier pair changed frequently and each classifier
used both devices over the measurement period. According to the inforce
regulations, the measurements with both probes were done independently,
on the left half carcass, at 7 cm from the split line, between
the 3rd-to-last and 4th-to-last rib.