Determination of sodium chloride in pork meat by computed tomography at different voltages.

Ground pork samples simulating the widely different chemical composition of hams during dry-cured ham production were produced and scanned by x-ray computed tomography (CT). Chemical composition accounted for most of the variation in CT values (97%). Tube voltage (80, 110, and 130 kV) affected CT value and the effect varied between different types of tissue. Sodium chloride (NaCl) was predicted in the ground samples with average prediction errors (RMSEP) as low as 0.2% to 1.0% NaCl. NaCl was also predicted in small samples of raw to dry-cured ham. When dry and fat ham samples were left out of the models, NaCl was predicted with a high precision (RMSEP 0.2% to 0.4% NaCl, R(2) > 0.99). CT can be used as a valuable, nondestructive tool to analyze distribution of and quantify NaCl in ham during dry-curing.