Clinically Recorded Masticatory Patterns as Related to the Sensory Evaluation of Meat and Meat Products

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Abstract
The masticatory pattern of meat and meat products, varying from red meat to sausages of frankfurter type, was registered by ten strain gauges attached to a prosthetic appliance. The deformation rates measured could be as high as 200 ‐ 400 cm/min, which should be compared to the deformation rates of 20 cm/min usually used in instrumental analysis of meat texture. Among the instrumental records of the masticatory pattern the number of chewing cycles was the best single indicator of the sensory impression of meat texture. A highly significant correlation with the sensory evaluations was achieved when a toughness index was formed as a product of the loading rate and the number of chewing cycles. The relevance of this is discussed in the light of failure mechanics of food and a hypothetical neuromuscular control of mastication.