Comparison of high pressure water to whizard knife removal of beef and pork tissue from vertebrae

High pressure water (110 kPa) was compared to the Whizard knife (WK) with respect to quantity and composition of tissue recovered from thoracic, lumbar, and cervical vertebrae of swine and beef carcasses. High pressure water (HPW) recovered tissue contained less collagen than that recovered using the WK. A higher percentage of tissue was recovered from beef bones by WK than by HPW, but HPW tissue was higher in noncollagen protein. Recovery differed due to vertebral location; thoracic and lumbar vertebrae yielded a higher percentage of tissue than did cervical vertebrae. Centrifugation at 4000 x g was required to reduce the moisture content of HPW-recovered tissue to that of WK-recovered tissue. Fat content of HPW-recovered beef tissue was lower than that of WK-recovered tissue, however the reverse was true for tissue recovered from pork vertebrae. Recovery method had no effect on total protein or ash content.