Shining light into meat - a review on the recent advances in in vivo and carcass applications of near infrared spectroscopy

Methods based in the utilisation of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy have been evaluated and reported by different authors for the analysis of a wide range of properties associated with meat quality in either live animals or during carcass evaluation, as infrared (IR) light has the capability to propagate through the several layers of the tissue. Recent reports by different authors also proved that methods based in the application of short wavelengths (e.g. 700-1100 nm) in the NIR region of the electromagnetic spectrum can measure properties related to meat quality non-destructively and non-invasively in live animals. In addition, this methodology was reported to be able to segregate tissues (e.g. lean and fat) assessed through the skin. Presently, there is a lack of knowledge on the capability of rapid and non-invasive methods based in NIR spectroscopy to assess and measure traits associated with meat quality in live animals (e.g. beef and pork). Therefore, this review reports the recent applications of NIR spectroscopy to predict traits (e.g. protein, fat, fatty acids and shear force) associated with meat quality in both live animals and carcass samples.