A novel partitioning method as a possible tool for investigating meat. I.

 This paper describes a practical application of the interfacial protein enrichment method, called three-phase partitioning (TPP), and outlines its significance in the differentiation of multicomponent protein systems, such as homogenates and drips of different meats (pork, beef, chicken, turkey and wild-boar). The results obtained using the single-protein model system are also reported to demonstrate the basic process and some characteristic features of TPP. For meat-protein-partitioning experiments, ammonium sulphate (41% relative saturation) and 23.7% tert-butanol were used at 20 – 25°C. Using this two-liquid system, a characteristic distribution of three phases (including a semi-solid midlayer) was obtained for homogenates of eight different meats following centrifugation. Compressibility, expressed as a ratio of layer thickness obtained by low-speed (200 g) and medium-speed (4500 g) centrifugation, allowed us to distinguish between beef and pork drips. A good correlation was found between layer thickness and storage time for wild-boar samples. The partitioning presented here can be considered as a rapid and simple method for comparison between raw meat samples of different origin. Received: 9 July 1997 / Revised version: 1 October 1997