Determination of calcium content in mechanically separated meat

Abstract

One of the most important control parameters for mechanically separated meat (MSM) is the calcium content, which indicates the presence of bone. The aim of this study was to examine the calcium content in three types of locally-produced MSM from differing animal species. Calcium was quantified in the examined samples of MSM, using indirect titration, and three differing napthol indicators (eriochrome black T, hydroxy naphthol blue and hydroxy naphthol blue disodium salt) were used to track the end point of titration. Each of the three different indicators showed a recovery of more than 90% when examining a certified reference material, and so all three could be successfully used to determine the amount of calcium in MSM. The calcium levels in the MSM samples examined were in the range of 0.050 to 0.100%, with that of beef MSM being the highest. Using a previously published binary logistic regression model for classifying meats as MSM, this corresponded to probabilities of between 0.69 and 0.94, confirming that the three types of MSM examined could indeed be properly classified as MSM.