MICROSCOPIC ANALISYS IN PROCESSED ANIAML PROTEINS (PAPs) IDENTIFICATION IN FEED: POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF IMAGE ANALYSIS

Potential applications of image analysis associated to the official microscopic method in processed animal protein (PAPs) identification in feed was tested. From eight different reference animal meals samples containing meat and bone meals of poultry or mammalian origin, thirty different digital images were obtained. Thirty-two geometric parameters were measured on processed digital images by the image analysis system. Principal component statistical analysis, variance analysis and boxplot quartiles indicate that the descriptors “perimeter” and mainly the descriptor “area” of lacunae were the most informative in PAPs identification.