Development of a puncture electronic device for electrical conductivity measurements throughout meat salting

Conductivity measurements of food systems are of high interest because they are related with food characteristics such as free water and salt content. Nevertheless, as far as now no devices have been developed for punctual conductivity measurements inside solid foods. The aim of this work was to develop a conductimeter which allows obtaining punctual measurements in different locations of solid foods. The sensor consists of a coaxial needle while an electrical sign controlled by microcontroller is applied. The preliminary results indicate that the obtained response is proportional to the conductivity and the salt content in the zone of measurement of the food, being possible its use for salted food analysis and control.