Histometric evaluation of meat products: Determination of area and comparison of results obtained by histology and chemistry

Histological examination of meat products enables direct identification and differentiation of the individual components. Image analysis is described in literature as a method that gives objective and accurate results comparable with chemical assay findings. The aim of this study was, therefore, to establish a procedure for the quantitative evaluation of meat products based on histological examination. For this reason, bone fragments in poultry meat products were detected. The technique used included the preparation of the mounts (staining with alizarin red), the application of digital photography, processing and analysis of the micrographs (ACC program, Image Structure and Object Analyser, version 4.0). The results were confirmed by comparison with chemical analyses determining the calcium levels by atomic absorption spectrometry. The correlation of both methods can be expressed by the coefficient of 0.78. A modification of the procedure of image recording and analysis was necessary to achieve this result.