New Techniques of Meat Quality Assessment for Detecting Meat Texture
Meat, as an essential food source in people’s lives, provides a wealth of nutrients. The physical properties of meat are directly related to its sensory caracteristics, such as elasticity, viscosity, and toughness. Food rheology, as a discipline that studies the deformation and flow behavior of food under force, can effectively characterize these physical properties of meat. The evaluation methods of rheological properties provide a more comprehensive and accurate means of detecting meat quality. This not only helps enhance the quality control level in the meat industry but also holds significant importance for safeguarding consumer rights. This paper reviews the assessment of rheological properties such as sensory evaluation, texture analyzers, and rheometers. The combined application of multiple technologies (such as the integration of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) with computer vision and the fusion of airflow and laser detection) and emerging technologies (such as nanotechnology and biosensor technology) shows potential in predicting the rheological properties of meat. It analyzes the current application status, advantages, and challenges faced by the assessment of rheological properties and provides an outlook on future development trends, offering theoretical references for the objective evaluation of meat quality.