Meat and Fish Texture Measurement and Analysis

Texture is a very important parameter in the total quality of meat and meat products (i.e. whole tissue and processed meats). For the consumer’s acceptability of meat, tenderness is a crucial property. As whole tissue meat is a natural product it possesses inherent variability due to many factors. As a sample for testing this presents a common problem to assess the texture repeatably.

Processed meats have three general types: deli-styles (for example turkey, bologna), that are sliced, formed meats (meat balls, meat patties, chicken patties, chicken nuggets) and sausage-style meats which are usually tubular shaped.

Processed meats are often investigated to assess, for instance, ideal combinations of ingredients, evaluate contribution of processing methods/times and highlight quality inconsistencies.

The measurement issues are however different for each type of processed meat. Deli-style meats need to balance the binders and texturising ingredients to obtain perfect firmness, cohesiveness and low adhesiveness (so that they can be cut) and the correct springiness and resilience to match consumer expectations. Formed meats need to balance moderate firmness (as too much muscle meat identity is not good in a patty) with strong cohesion (since these products are usually handled roughly but must remain whole. Many formed meats are often breaded so crispness is a major textural attribute.

Several meat products are generally more uniform in texture by way of the processing involved in their preparation and as such it is usually easier to find a successful repeatable method for the assessment of their overall texture. The following present a review of some of the types of methods available for the assessment of meat and meat products with some more recent approaches to improve on the repeatability of these quantitative assessments.

The same is true of fish and fish products. Typical measurements include: Firmness: fresh/cooked fish fillets, prawns, fish gels; Cutting Strength: fish fillets, surimi, squid; Springiness: surimi; and Elasticity: fish gels.

To see a summary of the types of testing possibilities that are available for the measurement of texture of your meat and fish products to ensure consistent quality and ultimately, consumer satisfaction, watch the video below...

You can also visit our website's Meat & Meat & Fish Applications pages...

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

No-one understands texture analysis like we do!

To discuss your specific test requirements click here...