The effects of orientation and storage time on the prediction of beef rib composition using electromagnetic scanning.

To investigate the effects of orientation of beef ribs in an electromagnetic field and storage time on the prediction of rib composition, 64 ribs (IMPS 103) were scanned (2.5 MHz) in three different orientations: posterior end first (POS), dorsal end first (DOR), and fat side first, blade end down (BLD). Scans were obtained after 1 and 5 d of storage. Scan peak, rib weight, 3/4 fat depth, length, and temperature were used to predict percentage and weight of dissectable and fat-free lean. The mean peak for the BLD scans was four to six times higher than the POS or DOR scans. Ribs scanned in the BLD orientation on d 5 had the highest coefficient of determination (CD; 94.0) and the lowest residual standard deviation (RSD; .22 kg) for prediction of lean weight. The POS and DOR scans were similar at d 5 (CD = 91.4 and 90.3, respectively) with RSD of .30 and .31 kg, respectively. Prediction of lean percentage resulted in lower CD than predicting lean weight. For percentage of lean, BLD scans at d 5 once again resulted in the best CD (81.6) and lowest RSD (1.5%). Prediction of percentage lean using POS or DOR orientation resulted in CD of 71.2 and 67.1 and RSD of 2.0 and 2.1%, respectively. The CD were similar for POS and DOR scans at d 1 and d 5. Predicting fat-free lean weight resulted in equal or lower CD than dissected lean and higher CD for lean percentage. It seems that orientation during scanning, when consistent, is not a major concern.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)