PREDICTION OF BEEF TENDERNESS USING NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTRUM ANALYSIS

Nearinfra-red(NIR) reflectance NIR a spectra (400 to 2,100 nm) were collected on 32 beef samples to find feasibility of predicting beef tenderness. The study to predict beef tenderness was accomplished with the stepwise second differential data of the collected NIR spectra. Beef tenderness was measured by Warner-Bratzler(WB) shear force using a Universal Testing Machine(UTM). After modeling the relation between Warner-Bratzler shear force and NIR spectrum of 19 samples among the 32 beef samples, the verification was carried out through predicting the other 13 samples. The SEC and R$^2$ values in the prediction equation were 9.07(N) and 0.6463, respectively. The SEP and R$^2$ were 14.8(N) and 0.7082 (wave length 552 nm, 1988 nm) respectively. The result implied that it was possible to predict the beef tenderness using NIR spectrum and that the tenderness could be predicted non-destructively in real time.