Science Focuses on Pigs

As Canadians are always one step ahead of everyone else, even in the most improbable domains, they had a team of scientists focusing on pork.

Actually, this new technique developed by a team of researchers at McGill University, in collaboration with Agriculture Canada and the pork industry, was built to determine things like the best pieces of pork, how moist they are and what is their texture.

It is actually a very sophisticated technique, that will give “industry workers better tools to do their job,” as Dr. Michael Ngadi of McGill's Department of Bioresource Engineering, explained.

“Computer-aided analysis of meat will result in higher-quality jobs, optimal production, and exports that fit more closely with the target markets.”

The technique is a certain success because, unlike previous laboratory techniques, this one did not destroy the testing sample.

Dr. Ngadi said that “the technique enables production workers to conduct objective and scientific analysis of the meat very quickly on the production line,” which will allow the meat to be sorted more precisely, according to the quality that different export markets demand.

This new technology involves spectroscopy, which is a technique based on the analysis of the wavelengths of visible and invisible light that matter produces.

The researchers discovered that by measuring the wavelengths of reflected light that pork cuts release, they could easily find out the color, texture and exudation (water release) of the meat.

The method needs just a little more work, but it's not far from leaving the laboratory and entering factories, Dr. Ngadi said.

“We are currently looking for partners who will work with us to build a ready-to-use device for a commercial production line,” he added.

The next step is to extend this technique to the evaluation of fat content and marbling.

This study was part of a project supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada and 'Le Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies'.