Summary
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) are investigating a number of non-invasive techniques for the measurement of the thickness of subcutaneous fat on cattle, sheep and pigs (the subcutaneous fat layer is located just below the skin). A successful instrument would be used in abattoirs after skinning of the animal, and would allow the optimum amount of subcutaneous fat to be removed. Optimizing the fat thickness has the potential to increase the income of a typical abattoir by approximately $1 million per year.
The CSIRO ICT Centre has proposed a technique based on the reflection of microwaves from the air-fat and fat-meat interfaces of the carcass. This report details some preliminary calculations and measurements carried out in May and June 2007.
