Impact of beef tenderness on the mechanical parameters of an indentation test – a preliminary study.

The « beef » sector is exploring how to guarantee delivering products to its clients with regular quality. However, the methods used to qualify beef tenderness are mainly invasive since they require sampling meat samples to be qualified. Therefore, tenderness is little or not at all evaluated by the sector. The objective of this study was to propose a non-invasive test, which ideally can be performed on a carcass and/or on-line, replacing the invasive tests used previously in laboratories (Warner-Bratzler shearing test, hardness test, penetration test, baking test). The new test is an indentation/relaxation/recovery test that leads to an estimation of tenderness indicators. The indentation method consists in the penetration of the meat with a hemispherical point, maintaining it in position then its rapid withdrawal, a phase associated with the return to equilibrium during which the movement at the meat surface is closely observed. A preliminary study on two pieces of meat with very different tenderness levels associates some of these indicators with data from compression tests (tensiometer), a device made available for this study by the Association for Development of the Meat Institute in Clermont-Ferrand (ADIV). In particular, after indentation, the gite round returns more quickly to its equilibrium state than the sirloin steak. The tendency that was observed on this “recovery” stage seems to be correlated with data obtained during penetrometry trials on similar samples. Statistical studies now need to be performed to validate the use of this tool for the industrial qualification of pieces of meat.