A modified ultrasonic method for determining the chemical composition of meat products

• Modified method of evaluation of proximate chemical composition based on ultrasonic measurements is presented.
• The method provides the content of water, fat and protein + others fraction using sound velocity and density.
• Measurements are performed in the same temperature.
• Estimation of proximate chemical composition of meat products using this method is very good.

In this study, an attempt was made to modify the existing ultrasound method (two-velocities method, TVM) for estimating the proximate chemical composition of meat products by replacing one of the two sound velocity measurements with a measurement of product density at the same temperature (velocity-density method, VDM). Both methods were used to determine the chemical composition of the same five batches of three selected meat products made in Poland: pork canned ham, pork ‘Krakowska’ sausage and pork ‘Podwawelska’ sausage. In all three products, the mass percentage of every ingredient determined by TVM differed significantly from the results of chemical analysis, whereas the mass percentage estimated by VDM did not differ significantly from the results of chemical analysis in any of the tested products. The study proposes a new, more accurate method for determining the proximate chemical composition of meat products. The method relies on measurements of product density, but it eliminates the need for measuring sound velocity at two different temperatures.