Determination of fatty acids in broiler breast meat by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The aim of this study was to develop near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for determination of the fatty acids (FA) in broiler breast meat. A total of 144 breast meat samples were freeze-dried and divided into calibration set and validation set. Calibration models were developed for FA including C14:0, C16:0, C16:1n-7, C18:0, C18:1n-7, C18:1n-9, C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3, C18:3n-6, C20:0, C20:1n-9, C20:2n-6, C20:4n-6, C20:5n-3, C22:4n-6, C22:6n-3, C24:0 and C24:1n-9. Calibration models for FA groups were also developed. Calibrations based on the absolute FA content were more accurate than those based on the relative composition (%). The coefficients of determination of FA and FA groups (based on the absolute content) except C18:3n-6, C20:0, C20:2n-6 and C24:1n-9, were between 0.86 and 0.98 for calibration, and 0.83 and 0.97 for validation. The results indicate NIRS can be a feasible and rapid method for determination of FA with a mean concentration over 0.10 g/kg.