New computer applications allow to classify Iberian pig meat aut...( This release is available in Combine...)

This release is available in Spanish.

Fast identification of animal meat for human consumption is especially interesting as it is a guarantee of quality for consumers and producers. Consumption of Iberian pig meat is traditional in Spain as an exponent of good taste and maximum gastronomic quality. In the last years, a booming economic sector is growing around such animal species, already exceeding the Spanish borders: Iberian ham, dried meat, cold meats and cold cuts are already been exported all over the world.

Up to now, they had been using methods based on traditional processes like tasting and genetic assessment by means of molecular analysis methods to assess the quality and purity of Iberian pig meat and its possible contamination with other less-valuable breeds. Scientists of the University of Granada (departments of Pathological Anatomy and Chemical Engineering) have developed new techniques by combining technologies from different scientific and technical fields, which allow an immediate classification of Iberian pig meat, guaranteeing the quality of these products.

Different articles published in the Journal of Food Engineering and a doctoral thesis support the recognition of the new advances. More than four years of work have led to the reading of the thesis New computer applications for the classification of Iberian pig meat by using morphometry and spectral reflectance, by Fernando Garca del Moral Martn, under the la direction of doctors Francisco OValle Ravassa and Leopoldo Martnez Nieto.

Combined techniques

The work has two essential areas. First -Garca del Moral says-, we have addressed the histological quantification by artificial vision of 6 animal species: White pig of the Large White hybrid breed, Iberian pig, lamb, cow of the Galician Blonde breed, Kobe
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