SUMMARY—Results obtained by a thermal extraction procedure for determining the fat content of fresh ground beef were found to correlate significantly (1 level) with results obtained by the official AOAC solvent extraction procedure. The fat levels investigated ranged between 14 and 29. As the amount of sample grinding increased, the fat variation within thermal extraction replications decreased, while the differences between the thermal and solvent extracted fat became larger.Linear regression between the two methods contained significant error in certain areas of the fat range tested. The fourth order polynomial provided the best fit curve between the solvent and thermal extraction data for thermal samples ground once through a plate having g‐in. diameter holes and twice through a plate having holes 1/8‐in. in diameter. The thermal extraction method, being adequately reproducible, rapid, and economical, provides a valuable tool to the food industry in control procedure and to the Armed Forces in its quality assurance
展开▼
