GIFSQ Tools · Module 2 — Food Chemistry & Physicochemical Testing · Tool 39 of 500
Centrifugation method for meat and other foods: enter the sample weight, its dry weight and the weight left after centrifugation, to get the water-holding capacity.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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Water-holding capacity (%)
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Water retained (g)
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Water in sample (g)
Equation: Water in sample = msample − mdry. Water retained = mafter − mdry. Water-holding capacity % = water retained ÷ water in sample × 100.
Method: Centrifugation method for meat water-holding capacity, as described by Wierbicki and Deatherage (1958) and Honikel (1998) — a weighed sample is centrifuged under stated conditions, the pellet is weighed, and the water it still holds is compared with the water the sample started with.
Assumptions: the dry weight is the true solids weight; all mass lost on centrifugation is water; centrifuge speed, time and temperature are the same for every sample compared.
Limitations: the result depends on centrifuge speed and time, so values are only comparable under the same conditions; drip loss and cooking loss measure different things and give different numbers; the method does not say why water was lost (pH, salt, protein state).
Rounding: water-holding capacity to 2 decimal places, water weights to 2 decimal places; intermediate values are not rounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Centrifugation method for meat water-holding capacity, as described by Wierbicki and Deatherage (1958) and Honikel (1998) — a weighed sample is centrifuged under stated conditions, the pellet is weighed, and the water it still holds is compared with the water the sample started with.
Assumptions: the dry weight is the true solids weight; all mass lost on centrifugation is water; centrifuge speed, time and temperature are the same for every sample compared.
Limitations: the result depends on centrifuge speed and time, so values are only comparable under the same conditions; drip loss and cooking loss measure different things and give different numbers; the method does not say why water was lost (pH, salt, protein state).
Rounding: water-holding capacity to 2 decimal places, water weights to 2 decimal places; intermediate values are not rounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: A 10.0 g meat sample has a dry weight of 3.0 g, so it holds 7.0 g of water. After centrifugation it weighs 8.0 g, so 5.0 g of water is retained. Water-holding capacity = 5.0 ÷ 7.0 × 100 = 71.43 %.
Enter values above to see results.
Fresh meat usually holds 70–80 % of its water under this test; a value under 60 % points to a pH or processing problem. This is the Module 2 physicochemical version — the meat drip-loss worksheet is a separate tool. Tool 39 of 500 — GIFSQ
