Abstract
As poultry is known to be a perishable food, the use-by date is set in such a way that food safety is guaranteed even with a higher initial bacterial count. This means, however, that some products are wasted, even if they are still safe to eat. Therefore, non-destructive measurement devices might be a good opportunity for individual shelf-life prediction, e.g., in retail. The aim of this study was therefore to use non-destructive measurement devices based on fluorescence quenching (oxygen detection) and mid-infrared laser spectroscopy (carbon dioxide detection) for the monitoring of high-oxygen-packed poultry in different storage conditions. During 15 days of storage, the gas composition of the headspace was assessed (non-destructively and destructively), while total plate count was monitored and a comprehensive sensory evaluation was performed by a trained panel. We were able to demonstrate that in most cases, non-destructive devices have comparable precision to destructive devices. For both storage conditions, the sensory attribute slime was correlated with reaching the critical microbiological value of 107 CFU/g; the attribute buttery was also useful for the prediction of regularly stored poultry. The change in the gas atmosphere as a sign of premature spoilage, however, was only possible for samples stored in irregular conditions.
Highlights
Food waste is a global issue, estimated by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) to be about 1.3 billion tons per year worldwide [1]
In our work shown here, we used measurement systems based on fluorescence quenching and infrared (IR) spectroscopy
This study showed that the presented non-destructive measurement systems can monitor the O2 and CO2 concentrations in the headspace of a package in real time and showed little to no deviations to the destructive methods in which gas samples were extracted from the headspace
Summary
Food waste is a global issue, estimated by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) to be about 1.3 billion tons per year worldwide [1]. The individual quality evaluation of an already packed foodstuff represents a major research topic of our time for different reasons. To integrate an intelligent sensor, e.g., a colorimetric dye, into a packaging system can serve as both a safeguard for the manufacturer to ensure quality and at the same time to give the consumer the feeling that they are in charge of quality control. The latter, brings the disadvantage that consumers are often insecure in estimating the information in the right way, which can cause unnecessary food waste [3]. Contrary to the earlier assumption that chicken meat is best packed in a low-oxygen (O2)
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