Qualitative evaluation of tortellini meat filling by histology and image analysis

The aim of this work was to identify the presence of different animal tissues in tortellini meat-filling with special emphasis on the percentage of skeletal muscle. Industrially packed and refrigerated tortellini filling from 4 different Italian commercial brands were examined and compared. From each brand, 5 different batches were sampled at intervals of one month. From each batch, 4 fillings were randomly sampled and coded to allow a blind examination. Histological sections were examined to identify the presence of various animal tissues. The presence and amount of large fragments of skeletal muscle in specimens were assessed and semiquantitatively ranked. To evaluate the percentage area of skeletal muscle in the samples, a computerized image analysis system was used. Animal tissues were well preserved in all examined samples. The filling quality was quantified by histology and image analysis evaluating: skeletal muscle density, size of skeletal muscle fragments, and uniformity of batches. In addition to the effective enforcement of food labelling law and the protection of consumers, histology and image analysis are reliable tools to identify small amounts of various animal tissues in a processed meat product.