Discrimination of adult steers (oxen) and young cattle ground meat samples by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS)

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to discriminate different types of ground beef samples. Fifty-three and sixty-seven samples of longissimus thoracis muscle corresponding to adult castrated steers (over 4 years old) and young cattle (under 14 months old), respectively, were homogenized and scanned over the NIR range (1100–2500 nm). The results showed that NIRS could successfully discriminate 100% of ground beef samples depending on the sort of animal, probably as a consequence of differences in the intramuscular fat and water contents. Thus, NIRS is a fast, inexpensive, and non-destructive method that can be used to discriminate these beef products.