Determination of endpoint temperatures in previously heat treated beef using reflectance spectroscopy.

Heat processing endpoint temperature affects several quality parameters of meat. The present paper focuses on using near-infrared and visual light reflectance spectroscopy at 400-2500 nm to determine the endpoint temperature in previously heated ground beef. Glass fibre filters with beef juice centrifuged from m. longissimus lumborum were used as samples for the technique Dry Extract Spectroscopy by Infrared Reflection (DESIR). Combined with multivariate analysis, this method gave prediction errors down to ± 0.74 °C in the temperature range 65.6-75.6 °C, showing that DESIR is a potential screening method. The dominant part of the predictive information was in the visual part of the spectra.