The impact of accelerated electrons on volatile organic compounds in poultry and fish

Abstract

The necessity of developing safe methods of processing food products which improve the quality and extend their shelf life entails further scientific research aimed at increasing the efficiency of radiation processing of food products. Ionizing radiation causes lipid peroxidation in the items with a high fat and water content, such as chilled meat and fish products, which leads to formation of organic volatile compounds that render the food the specific flavor and smell. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is a technique that provides identification of chemical changes that actually occur in the product after irradiation. Experimental data on the content of organic volatile compounds in chilled turkey and salmon meat samples exposed to irradiation with 1 MeV accelerated electrons in the dose range from 0.25 to 2 kGy revealed both common and different trends in the behavior of dose dependences of alcohol, aldehyde and ketone contents in various types of chilled products. A proposed mathematical model based on the possibility of simultaneous occurrence of two competing processes, i.e., the decomposition of compounds due to their oxidation and the accumulation of compounds due to oxidation of other compounds after exposure to ionizing radiation match a dose dependent character of experimental data.