Analysis of visible reflectance spectra of stored, cooked and diseased chicken meats

Influence of cooking methods and storage time on colour, texture, and fatty acid profile of a novel fish burger for the prevention of cognitive decline

Western diets are poor in healthy n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), namely eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), iodine (I), and other nutrients that may protect against cognitive ageing. Given DHA richness in chub mackerel (Scomber colias), high vitamin B9 levels in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), and I abundance in the seaweed Saccorhiza polyschides, a functional hamburger rich in these nutrients by using these ingredients was developed. This research focused on the factors affecting its quality by examining the impact of cooking (steaming at 100 °C, roasting at 180 °C, grilling at 180 °C) and storage time (after 4 and 6 months at -20 °C) upon the product's properties. Cooking treatments were found to influence the burger's colour and texture, whereas storage duration impacted FA levels and the polyene index. Cooked burgers presented lighter (L*, 45.1-55.0 vs 36.9 ± 2.4) and more yellow colouration (b*, 15.8-17.8 vs 13.6 ± 1.0) than raw burgers. Cooked burgers also exhibited higher textural values across various parameters than their raw versions. Grilled burgers (excluding initial time) were firmer (50.0 ± 5.1 N) than those cooked otherwise (37.0-39.9 N). Regarding FA levels, a decrease in DHA was recorded after four months (21.8-23.0% vs 26.4-30.6%). The polyene index followed a similar trajectory, declining from 2.6 to 3.6 initially to 1.8-1.9 in the fourth month. Hence, the studied mackerel burger could be a promising source of EPA, DHA, and other n-3 PUFAs in human diets, optimally with a frozen storage duration of fewer than four months to preserve nutritional integrity.

Effect of Dietary Enrichment with Flaxseed, Vitamin E and Selenium, and of Market Class on the Broiler Breast Meat-Part 2: Technological and Sensorial Traits

The influence of diet enrichment with flaxseed, selenium and vitamin E, and market class on breast meat was investigated in terms of technological and sensorial quality of breast meat. A randomized complete block design with an experimental unit of n = 6000 broilers receiving a standard or enriched diet, and slaughtered at 37 (light class), 47 (medium class), or 57 (heavy class) days of life, was developed. Then, enriched and standard breast muscles from every market class were studied for their technological and sensorial traits—both at 24 h post-mortem and after one month of frozen storage—by a statistical multiple linear model. Redness and yellowness of muscles significantly (p < 0.05) increased and decreased with increasing market age. Moreover, the yellowness significantly (p < 0.05) raised after frozen storage. However, obtained data were always indicative of a normal meat color. The water holding capacity improved following fed enrichment and significantly (p < 0.05) worsened after frozen storage. For the sensory analysis, juiciness and chewing rest of meat resulted significantly (p < 0.05) improved with increasing slaughtering age and diet enrichment, as well as their mutual interaction, while they deteriorated after frozen storage. Overall, fresh and enriched muscles from heavy broilers had the best technological and sensorial traits, thus, confirming that market size and diet should be highly considered to obtain breast meat with greater consumer acceptance.

Polarimetric comparison of fresh and frozen skeletal muscle tissues of goat

Optical properties can provide rich information about morphology and structure of tissues. Fresh and frozen muscle tissue samples of goat are investigated using imaging polarimetry to understand its structural nature. The outcomes demonstrate that the muscle tissues lose, to some extent, their integrity and organization on freezing. The fresh tissues offer very small circular retardance as compared to frozen samples. However, linear retardance is the main contributor in fresh muscle samples. Ultimately, linear and circular retardance can be used to differentiate fresh and frozen tissues. These investigations illustrate the capabilities of optical polarimetry for the characterization of muscle tissue structures. Specifically, the structure of biological tissue samples can be differentiated using real-time, cost effective and non-invasive optical polarimetry in the field of meat industry and biomedical diagnosis.

The selected goose meat quality traits in relation to various types of heat treatment

The effect of water bath cooking (WBC), oven convection roasting (OCR), grilling (G), pan frying (PF) on selected physical properties of goose meat was compared in this study. A measurement of cooking loss, texture, color parameters, and sensory evaluation was carried out. The experimental material covered 96 breast muscles cut from carcasses of 17-week-old “Polish oat geese.” The kind of goose meat (with and without skin) and the type of heat treatment affected cooking loss, shear force (SF), and rheological parameters (hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess, and chewiness). The water bath–cooked and pan-fried samples for both kinds of meat were characterized by lower cooking loss than other ones. Goose meat with skin and subcutaneous fat showed higher cooking loss and lower SF value, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness than that without skin for all methods. The water bath–cooked samples were characterized by the lowest SF value, hardness, and chewiness for both kinds of meat. They had the highest value of L∗ parameter and were characterized by a lighter color among others, too. Pan-fried meat showed the highest value of a∗ and lowest of h^o parameters; the color of these samples was redder. Moreover, the lower C values of oven convection-roasted and grilled samples showed that they were brighter. According to the Comission Internationale de l’Eclairage classification, the ΔE parameter only for G and OCR indicated noticeable color differences (<2), whereas other pairs had visible differences. The method of cooking affected sensory descriptors such as the intensity of flavor and aroma, tenderness, juiciness, springiness, cohesiveness, and overall palatability of goose meat. The goose samples of PF, G, and OCR were characterized as very good and WBC as extremely desirable overall palatability. However, in the next stage of research, there is a need to study changes in the chemical composition, the degree of lipid oxidation, and the nutritional value of this meat that underwent different methods of cooking. Only then it will be possibly to clearly determine which method of the heat treatment of goose meat is optimal.

Myoglobin-Based Classification of Minced Meat Using Hyperspectral Imaging

Minced meat substitution is one of the most common frauds which not only affects consumer health but impacts their lifestyles and religious customs as well. A number of methods have been proposed to overcome these frauds; however, these mostly rely on laboratory measures and are often subject to human error. Therefore, this study proposes novel hyperspectral imaging (400–1000 nm) based non-destructive isos-bestic myoglobin (Mb) spectral features for minced meat classification. A total of 60 minced meat spectral cubes were pre-processed using true-color image formulation to extract regions of interest, which were further normalized using the Savitzky–Golay filtering technique. The proposed pipeline outperformed several state-of-the-art methods by achieving an average accuracy of 88.88%.

Influence of the Inclusion of Chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) in the Finishing Diet and Cooking Technique on the Physicochemical Parameters and Volatile Profile of Biceps femoris Muscle

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the diet (chestnut vs. commercial feed) and cooking techniques (roasting, grilling, frying and microwaving) on the quality of the Biceps femoris muscle of the Celta pig breed. Chemical composition, physicochemical parameters, oxidative stability and volatile profile were analysed. Overall, the inclusion of chestnuts did not affect the chemical composition, except for intramuscular fat content, which was higher in chestnut-fed pigs. The colour and shear force of cooked Biceps femoris were not affected by the finishing diet. However, a significant increase in cooking losses and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value was found with the chestnuts included in the diet. In addition, the inclusion of chestnuts also modified some volatile compound that could be associated with the diet, such as furan, 2-pentyl. On the other hand, the cooking method significantly affected chemical composition (moisture, fat, protein and ash content), colour parameters, cooking loss, TBARS and volatile profile, whereas the shear force was not affected. Concretely, fried and microwave were the techniques that led to a greater presence of intramuscular fat. In addition, the frying method also showed the highest a* value, whereas the microwaved technique displayed the highest cooking loss. Regarding lipid oxidation, the fried method displayed the lower TBARS and hexanal content. On the other hand, the major volatile compounds were aldehydes in all cooking methods except for the frying technique in chestnut samples. Finally, method-frying displayed the lowest amount of total volatiles compounds, unlike grilling.

Effects of Black Quinoa Wet-Milling Coproducts on the Quality Properties of Bologna-Type Sausages During Cold Storage

The incorporation of a new ingredient into foods could not only affect the intrinsic properties of the product but also its shelf life. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the black quinoa (both as whole seeds and as the fibre-rich fraction obtained as coproduct from its wet-milling process) on the shelf life of Bologna-type sausages during cold storage. Three treatments of Bologna-type sausages were produced: control, sausages with black quinoa seeds (2.5%), and sausages with their fibre-rich fraction (2.5%). The effect of the black quinoa added on the physicochemical properties (pH and colour), lipid oxidation, residual nitrite level, and microbiological quality of Bolognas during 21 days of cold storage was evaluated. Although the addition of quinoa products in Bologna-type sausages modified some colour parameters (day 0), these differences were masked through the storage period. Sausages with quinoa products added showing lipid oxidation values lower than the control for all the days studied. Sausages with quinoa products added showed higher residual nitrite levels than control at all measurement times during the storage period. The addition of black quinoa did not affect microbial stability during storage. Black quinoa products can be considered promising ingredients to be used as antioxidants and natural nitrate sources in Bologna-type sausages without affecting their microbial safety during storage.

Non-destructive assessment of the myoglobin content of Tan sheep using hyperspectral imaging

This study aimed to develop simplified models for rapid and nondestructive monitoring myoglobin contents (DeoMb, MbO₂ and MetMb) during refrigerated storage of Tan sheep based on a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system in the spectral range of 400-1000 nm. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and least-squares support vector machines (LSSVM) were applied to correlate the spectral data with the reference values of myoglobin contents measured by a traditional method. In order to simplify the LSSVM models, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and Interval variable iterative space shrinkage approach (iVISSA) were used to select key wavelengths. The new CARS-LSSVM models of DeoMb and MbO₂ yielded good results, with R²p of 0.810 and 0.914, RMSEP of 1.127 and 2.598, respectively. The best model of MetMb was new iVISSA-CARS-LSSVM, with an R²p of 0.915 and RMSEP of 2.777. The overall results from this study indicated that it was feasible to predict myoglobin contents in Tan sheep using HSI.

Online Prediction of Physico-Chemical Quality Attributes of Beef Using Visible-Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

The potential of visible–near-infrared (Vis–NIR) spectroscopy to predict physico-chemical quality traits in 368 samples of bovine musculus longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) was evaluated. A fibre-optic probe was applied on the exposed surface of the bovine carcass for the collection of spectra, including the neck and rump (1 h and 2 h post-mortem and after quartering, i.e., 24 h and 25 h post-mortem) and the boned-out LTL muscle (48 h and 49 h post-mortem). In parallel, reference analysis for physico-chemical parameters of beef quality including ultimate pH, colour (L, a*, b*), cook loss and drip loss was conducted using standard laboratory methods. Partial least-squares (PLS) regression models were used to correlate the spectral information with reference quality parameters of beef muscle. Different mathematical pre-treatments and their combinations were applied to improve the model accuracy, which was evaluated on the basis of the coefficient of determination of calibration (R²C) and cross-validation (R²CV) and root-mean-square error of calibration (RMSEC) and cross-validation (RMSECV). Reliable cross-validation models were achieved for ultimate pH (R²CV: 0.91 (quartering, 24 h) and R²CV: 0.96 (LTL muscle, 48 h)) and drip loss (R²CV: 0.82 (quartering, 24 h) and R²CV: 0.99 (LTL muscle, 48 h)) with lower RMSECV values. The results show the potential of Vis–NIR spectroscopy for online prediction of certain quality parameters of beef over different time periods.

Met-myoglobin formation, accumulation, degradation, and myoglobin oxygenation monitoring based on multiwavelength attenuance measurement in porcine meat

We propose a simple, rapid, and nondestructive method to investigate formation, accumulation, and degradation of met-myoglobin (met-Mb) and myoglobin oxygenation from the interior of porcine meat. For the experiment, color photos and attenuance spectra of porcine meat (well-bled muscle, fat, and mixed) were collected daily to perform colorimetric analysis and to obtain the differences of attenuance between 578 and 567 nm (A578-A567) and between 615 and 630 nm (A630-A615), respectively. Oxy-, deoxy-, and met-myoglobin concentration changes over storage time were also calculated using Beer–Lamberts’ law with reflectance intensities at 557, 582, and 630 nm. The change of A578-A567 was well matched with the change of myoglobin oxygenation, and the change of A630-A615 corresponded well with the formation and degradation of met-Mb. In addition, attenuation differences, A578-A567 and A630-A615, were able to show the formation of met-Mb earlier than colorimetric analysis. Therefore, the attenuance differences between wavelengths can be indicators for estimating myoglobin oxygenation and met-Mb formation, accumulation, and degradation, which enable us to design a simple device to monitor myoglobin activities in porcine meat.

Applications of hyperspectral imaging in chicken meat safety and quality detection and evaluation: a review

Currently, the issue of food safety and quality is a great public concern. In order to satisfy the demands of consumers and obtain superior food qualities, non-destructive and fast methods are required for quality evaluation. As one of these methods, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technique has emerged as a smart and promising analytical tool for quality evaluation purposes and has attracted much interest in non-destructive analysis of different food products. With the main advantage of combining both spectroscopy technique and imaging technique, HSI technique shows a convinced attitude to detect and evaluate chicken meat quality objectively. Moreover, developing a quality evaluation system based on HSI technology would bring economic benefits to the chicken meat industry. Therefore, in recent years, many studies have been conducted on using HSI technology for the safety and quality detection and evaluation of chicken meat. The aim of this review is thus to give a detailed overview about HSI and focus on the recently developed methods exerted in HSI technology developed for microbiological spoilage detection and quality classification of chicken meat. Moreover, the usefulness of HSI technique for detecting fecal contamination and bone fragments of chicken carcasses are presented. Finally, some viewpoints on its future research and applicability in the modern poultry industry are proposed.

Influence of Citric Acid on the Pink Color and Characteristics of Sous Vide Processed Chicken Breasts During Chill Storage

Chicken breast dipped with citric acid (CA) was treated by sous vide processing and stored in a refrigerated state for 0, 3, 6, 9, and 14 d. A non-dipped control group (CON) and three groups dipped in different concentrations of citric acid concentration were analyzed (0.5%, 0.5CIT; 2.0%, 2CIT and 5.0%, 5CIT; w/v). Cooking yield and moisture content increased due to the citric acid. While the redness of the juice and meat in all groups showed significant increase during storage, the redness of the citric acid groups was reduced compared to the control group (p<0.05). The percentage of myoglobin denaturation (PMD) of the CA groups was also increased according to the level of CA during storage. Total aerobic counts, Enterobacteriaceae counts, volatile basic nitrogen and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were generally lower in the citric acid-treated samples than in untreated ones, indicating extended shelf life of the cooked chicken breast dipped in citric acid solution. The shear force of the 2CIT and 5CIT groups was significantly lower (p<0.05). The findings indicated positive effects in the physicochemical properties and storage ability of sous vide chicken breast at 2% and 5% citric acid concentrations.

Prediction of color, texture, and sensory characteristics of beef steaks by visible and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. A feasibility study

Color, instrumental texture, and sensory attributes of steaks from 24 beef carcasses at 2, 4, 8, 14, and 21 days post mortem were predicted by visible/near infrared (visible/NIR) reflectance spectroscopy in 400-1080 nm region. Predicting the Hunter a, b, and E* yielded the coefficient of determination (R(2)) in calibration to be 0.78-0.90, and R(2) was between 0.49 and 0.55 for tenderness, Hunter L, sensory chewiness and juiciness. The prediction R(2) for tenderness was in the range of 0.22-0.72 when the samples were segregated according to the aging days. Based on partial least square (PLS) model predicted tenderness, beef samples were classified into tender and tough classes with a correct classification of 83%. Soft independent modeling of class analogy of principal component analysis (SIMCA/PCA) model of measured tenderness showed great promise in the classification of tender and tough meats with over 96% success.

Use of meat fluorescence emission as a marker of oxidation promoted by cooking

Accumulation of fluorescent pigments in cooked bovine meat (M. Longissimus thoracis) was studied in relationship with the heating parameters (time and temperature). Muscles were aged at 4°C for 11days under vacuum before cooking. Meat cooking was performed by applying jets of steam. Three different heating treatments were tested: two with constant surface temperatures of 65 and 96°C for 300s, and one with a continuously increasing surface temperature up to 207°C. After extraction in water/dichloromethane/ethanol, fluorescence pigments were distributed between the apolar phase (emission 420-440nm after excitation at 360nm) and the polar phase, where two emission peaks were seen (emission 410-430 and 515nm after excitation at 360nm). Fluorescence in the two phases was little affected by heating at the two constant temperatures while it increased exponentially after 1min of treatment, as the varying temperature reached 141°C. The maximum fluorescence increases, measured in the extreme conditions of cooking (207°C/300s), were of 5000% in the apolar phase and 1700% in the polar phase. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls were measured in parallel. The correlations between these two parameters and the fluorescence emission demonstrated that the interaction between proteins and aldehyde products of lipid peroxidation was mainly involved in the production of fluorescent pigments in cooked meat.

Meat quality assessment using biophysical methods related to meat structure

This paper overviews the biophysical methods developed to gain access to meat structure information. The meat industry needs reliable meat quality information throughout the production process in order to guarantee high-quality meat products for consumers. Fast and non-invasive sensors will shortly be deployed, based on the development of biophysical methods for assessing meat structure. Reliable meat quality information (tenderness, flavour, juiciness, colour) can be provided by a number of different meat structure assessment either by means of mechanical (i.e., Warner-Bratzler shear force), optical (colour measurements, fluorescence) electrical probing or using ultrasonic measurements, electromagnetic waves, NMR, NIR, and so on. These measurements are often used to construct meat structure images that are fusioned and then processed via multi-image analysis, which needs appropriate processing methods. Quality traits related to mechanical properties are often better assessed by methods that take into account the natural anisotropy of meat due to its relatively linear myofibrillar structure. Biophysical methods of assessment can either measure meat component properties directly, or calculate them indirectly by using obvious correlations between one or several biophysical measurements and meat component properties. Taking these calculations and modelling the main relevant biophysical properties involved can help to improve our understanding of meat properties and thus of eating quality.

Effect of meat cooking on physicochemical state and in vitro digestibility of myofibrillar proteins

The effect of meat cooking was measured on myofibrillar proteins from bovine M. Rectus abdominis. The heating treatment involved two temperatures (100 degrees C during 5, 15, 30, and 45 min and 270 degrees C during 1 min). Protein oxidation induced by cooking was evaluated by the level of carbonyl and free thiol groups. Structural modifications of proteins were assessed by the measurement of their surface hydrophobicity and by their aggregation state. With the aim of evaluating the impact of heat treatment on the digestive process, myofibrillar proteins were then exposed to proteases of the digestive tract (pepsin, trypsin, and alpha-chymotrypsin) in conditions of pH and temperature that simulate stomach and duodenal digestion. Meat cooking affected myofibrillar protein susceptibility to proteases, with increased or decreased rates, depending on the nature of the protease and the time/temperature parameters. Results showed a direct and quantitative relationship between protein carbonylation (p<0.01) and aggregation (p<0.05) induced by cooking and proteolytic susceptibility to pepsin. However, no such correlations have been observed with trypsin and alpha-chymotrypsin.

Biochemical Survey on Episodic Localized Darkening in Turkey Deboned Thigh Meat Packaged in Modified Atmosphere

The color of food, especially meat and meat products, is a parameter that strongly influences consumer choice. In Italy, repeated cases of darkening in deboned thigh meat of male turkeys packaged in modified atmosphere (MAP; 80% 02, 20% CO2) have been reported. The pH, lipid oxidation (TBARS), heme proteins, and iron content were investigated in MAP samples of turkey males, females, and in oxygen-permeable film-packaged males. Furthermore, the absorbance spectrum (400 to 700 nm) of the meat extracts was analyzed to better delineate the evolution and characteristics of the darkening process. Results showed that darkening occurred only in males with higher content of total iron, independently of the content of heme proteins, which differs only between males and females. Furthermore, pH was higher in muscles taken as controls, with respect to muscles involved in the darkening, as well as in females. Finally, TBARS values were found to be higher in darkened regions than in not darkened ones, as well as in MAP samples with respect to oxygen-permeable film-packaged samples. These findings suggest that darkening occurrence might depend on kind of muscle, sex, and individual characteristics of the animals raised under the same breeding conditions.

Two-color mixing for classifying agricultural products for safety and quality

We show that the chromaticness of the visual signal that results from the two-color mixing achieved through an optically enhanced binocular device is directly related to the band ratio of light intensity at the two selected wavebands. A technique that implements the band-ratio criterion in a visual device by using two-color mixing is presented here. The device will allow inspectors to identify targets visually in accordance with a two-wavelength band ratio. It is a method of inspection by human vision assisted by an optical device, which offers greater flexibility and better cost savings than a multispectral machine vision system that implements the band-ratio criterion. With proper selection of the two narrow wavebands, discrimination by chromaticness that is directly related to the band ratio can work well. An example application of this technique for the inspection of carcasses chickens of afficted with various diseases is given. An optimal pair of wavelengths of 454 and 578 nm was selected to optimize differences in saturation and hue in CIE LUV color space among different types of target. Another example application, for the detection of chilling injury in cucumbers, is given, here the selected wavelength pair was 504 and 652 nm. The novel two-color mixing technique for visual inspection can be included in visual devices for various applications, ranging from target detection to food safety inspection.

Two-wave-band color-mixing binoculars for the detection of wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses: a simulation

Visual inspection of wholesome and unwholesome chicken carcasses with a novel two-narrowband color-mixing technique for optically enhanced binoculars is simulated. From mean spectra of wholesome, airsacculitis (air-sac), cadaver, inflammatory process (IP), septicemia-toxemia (septox), and tumor chicken samples, 10 nm wave-band pairs are selected using color difference and chromaticness difference indices for simulation of multitarget and single-target detection. The color appearance simulation uses the CIECAM97s color appearance model. Results show that for multitarget detection, the wave-band pair of (454 nm, 578 nm) is able to differentiate all six chicken conditions. For single-target detection of wholesome, air-sac, cadaver, and tumor, the wave-band pairs of (449 nm, 571 nm), (441 nm, 576 nm), (458 nm, 576 nm), and (431 nm, 501 nm), respectively, easily distinguish the target condition from the other five conditions. For single-target detection of IP and septox, the wave-band pairs of (454 nm, 591 nm) and (454 nm, 590 nm), respectively, are able to differentiate the target conditions from wholesome and tumor conditions but have difficulty with the other chicken conditions. The two-color-mixing technique shows promise for use in small-scale processing plant environments to improve the visual inspection process.

Detection of septicemia in chicken livers by spectroscopy,

To establish a procedure for differentiating normal chickens from chickens with septicemia/toxemia (septox) by machine inspection under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-Based Inspection Models Project, spectral measurements of 300 chicken livers, of which half were normal and half were condemned due to septox conditions, were collected and analyzed. Neural network classification of the spectral data after principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that normal and septox livers were correctly differentiated by spectroscopy at a rate of 96%. Analysis of the data established 100% correlation between the spectroscopic identification and the subset of samples, both normal and septox, that were histopathologically diagnosed. In an attempt to establish the microbiological etiology of the diseased livers, isolates from 30 livers indicated that the poultry carcasses were contaminated mostly with coliforms present in the environment, hindering the isolation of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, to establish the cause of diseased livers, a strictly aseptic environment and procedure for sample collection is required.