Method and apparatus for rapid fat content determination

A method of rapidly and accurately determining the fat and oil content of a sample that also contains moisture in amounts that would otherwise preclude NMR determination of the fat and oil content, the method comprising:

• placing the sample on a sample pad that is substantially transparent to microwave radiation and that is free of atoms that would interfere with or mask the NMR response of the protons in the fats and oils in the sample;
• weighing the sample and the sample pad;
• thereafter drying the sample at a temperature sufficient to melt at least a portion of the fat in the sample by subjecting the sample and sample pad to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequencies;
• reweighing the sample and sample pad after drying the sample;
• transferring the entire sample on the sample pad to a proton pulse NMR analyzer that measures the relaxation times of protons in the sample in response to pulsed irradiation at radio frequencies from the NMR analyzer;
• measuring the pulse NMR response of the sample at substantially the same temperature as the drying step to identify the pulse NMR response of protons associated with fats and oils;
• comparing the pulse NMR response of the sample with the known pulse NMR responses of similar samples of known fat and oil content to determine the fat and oil content in the sample;
• and calculating the percentage of moisture in the sample based on the weight change during drying,
• quantitatively determining the fat and oil content in the sample prior to drying.