Detection of Mechanically Deboned Meat in Cold Cuts by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

In present study the use of Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was investigated for the detection and differentiation of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) content treated with high pressure techniques in meat products. A number of samples of meat products were prepared containing different proportions of MDM and elemental analysis was performed by a multi-element ICP-MS method after microwave assisted acid digestion of processed meat samples in closed vessels acid microwave digestion method. Element concentrations were plotted versus MDM content and obvious differences were observed for certain elements. Among all examined elements, barium presented a clear trend in correlation of its concentration with the MDM content. The results of this preliminary study indicate that it is possible to detect the proportion of % MDM content in processed meat products by its correlation to barium concentration.