A Review of the Principles and Applications of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Characterize Meat, Fat, and Meat Products.

Consumer demand for quality and healthfulness has led to a higher need for quality assurance in meat production. This requirement has increased interest in near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy due to the ability for rapid, environmentally friendly, and noninvasive prediction of meat quality or authentication of added-value meat products. This review includes the principles of NIR spectroscopy, pre-processing methods, and multivariate analyses used for quantitative and qualitative purposes in the meat sector.

Production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) enriched bacon.

North American consumers interested in improving their health through diet perceive red meat as a source of too much saturated and unhealthy fat in the diet. The purpose of this trial was to produce bacon enriched with the long-chain omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In this 25 day study, pigs were fed a standard finisher diet of canola, pea, corn, and barley, mixed with DHA, added in the form of alga biomass.