ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CHEWING EFFICIENCY AND MASTICATION PATTERNS FOR MEAT, AND INFLUENCE ON TENDERNESS PERCEPTION

The aim of this study was to investigate whether individuals' chewing patterns were related to their chewing efficiency, and influenced thei r perceptions of meat tenderness. Chewing efficiency was measured usin g two methods. Subjects continuously assessed the tenderness of a rang e of samples throughout the chewing sequence using rime Intensity. At the same time electromgographs (EMGs) were recorded from their mastica tory muscles. Subjects were subdivided into four groups with respect t o their chewing efficiencies with the two methods. These subgroups dif fered significantly in the number of chews, total chewing time and che w work, both for the initial chews and the complete chewing sequence, for the meat samples. No significant difference was found in the denti tion between the groups. Significant differences were found between th e groups in their temporal perceptions of tenderness. Copyright (C) 19 96 Elsevier Science Ltd