Design, development and application of a bioelectrochemical detection system for meat tenderness prediction.

The analytical method described, based on antibody-antigen bio-recognition and the measuring system for amperometric detection, was designed for accurate, easy to use and cost effective quantification of calpastatin, a meat tenderness biomarker. The novel assay for calpastatin quantification was integrated in a portable electrochemical device known as the Tendercheck system and was used to analyze meat samples collected from animals of different breeds and ages. The data obtained were correlated (R(2)=0.62) with Warner Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) measurements, a routinely used method for meat tenderness determination.