Estimation of oleic acid percentage of beef by measuring impedance with touch type electrodes

Abstract

This study was aimed to estimate the fatty acid composition of beef by measuring impedance using touch type electrodes. Steaks were prepared from bovine M. semitendinosus, M. longissimus thoracis, and M. serratus ventrailis. The impedance of the steaks was measured with an LCR meter equipped with touch type electrodes. The relationship between percentage of each fatty acid and the impedance of the steaks was analyzed by a simple regression analysis. A significant correlation was observed between the percentage of oleic acid, saturated fatty acid, unsaturated fatty acid, and monounsaturated fatty acid and the impedance of M. serratus ventrailis. There were no significant correlations between the percentages of fatty acids and crude fat content in M. serratus ventrailis. The crude fat content in M. serratus ventrailis (29.7%) was significantly higher than that in M. semitendinosus (3.8%) and M. longissimus thoracis (12.9%). These results suggested that it is possible to estimate the percentage of oleic acid, saturated fatty acid, unsaturated fatty acid, and monounsaturated fatty acid of beef with a high fat content non-destructively by measuring impedance with touch type electrodes.