Influences of Meat Organization on Intensity Distribution in Magnetic Resonance Images

The chemical composition and tissue structure of meats determine the quality of food products. Nondestructive techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are ideal for monitoring meat quality. Meat organization influences the intensity and phase of MR images. In this study, the influence of meat fat content and tenderness on the intensity of MR images was evaluated using the following samples: chicken breast (CB), chicken thigh (CT), porcine fillet (PF), porcine thigh (PT), and porcine stomach (PS). Considerable differences in fat content and tenderness - parameters influenced by intramuscular connective tissue - were observed in these meat samples. Significant differences in mean image intensity were observed between the CB and CT samples of chicken meat. Further, with the exception of the PS sample, significant differences in mean intensity were also observed between the porcine meat samples. On the contrary, no significant differences in the standard deviation and standard error of the mean of image intensity were produced by meat organization. These results indicate that mean intensity may be a useful parameter to evaluate meat organization.