The Danish firm Carometec has developed a device that makes it possible to assess the deliciousness of bacon before the pig is butchered, Metroxpress reports.
The invention, called NitFom by its developers but more descriptively dubbed the ‘bacon pistol’ by Metroxpress, makes it possible in just three seconds to measure the fat composition of pork using near-infrared-transmission spectroscopy – sending and measuring light signals in the meat to assess its iodine content.
All about iodine
“A high iodine count is rubbish for bacon, but good for public health and vice-versa,” Thomas Lauridsen, the head of development at Carometec, explained.
The iodine content also determines how thinly the meat can be sliced – ‘slice-ability’ as it’s known in the trade.
The machines cost 750,000 kroner each. So far just a single unit has been sold – to a company in Germany.
“First the industry needs to accept that the product is worthwhile. Knowing the fat composition in the meat can contribute to giving butchers a competitive advantage,” Lauridsen said.
“If we just sell ten a year we’ll consider it a success.”
