Meat is an important component of food basket of India and it plays important role in nutritional and nutrient security of the country. Demand for meat and meat products is rapidly increasing in the domestic market due to rising percapita income, ever growing population and increasing nuclear families. It is pertinent to note that quality consciousness among domestic consumers is slowly rising due to increasing education and awareness level. Stringent food safety guidelines putforth
by Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has made it mandatorty for meat producers and processors to maintain quality and safety standards of meat and meat products. Also, in recent years India is emerging as a major player in International meat market with buffalo meat export reaching record high.
Meat producers need to maintain quality and ensure safety to comply with domestic regulations, meeting consumer expectations in Indian scenario and to meet the regulations of the importing countries in the International market. This requires techniques for evaluation of meat quality and availability of laboratory
facilities in different parts of the country to meet the analytical requirements of the growing meat industry.

Methods in Meat Science is a comprehensive compliation of all the relevant methodologies for the quality analysis of meat. First edition of the book was brought out in the year 2008. Second edition is brought out by incorporating more analytical techniques developed in the last decade. The content of the book is designed to cater to requirement of meat producers, regulatory agencies, researchers, students, teachers, laboratory staff etc. The book is the largest compilation of the techniques in meat quality evaluation in the country. It covers techniques for physico-chemical analysis of meat, species identification and microbiological examination of meat. Also, it contains the latest biotechnological and proteomic techniques for meat quality evaluation. To help the reader understand better figures, tables, line
diagrams, etc are used frequently whenever needed. Some important pictures are given in colour plates for lucid and clear understanding of the concept. Appendices are included at the end of the text which helps to understand the text better. We hope that our humble effort should prove successful in helping the readers. We have tried to make the topics as comprehensive and simplified as possible. However, certain inaccuracies and errors may creep in for which suggestions and comments will be appreciated greatly.