Emerging nondestructive approaches for meat quality and safety evaluation—A review

Abstract

Meat is one of the most consumed agro‐products because it contains proteins, minerals, and essential vitamins, all of which play critical roles in the human diet and health. Meat is a perishable food product because of its high moisture content, and as such there are concerns about its quality, stability, and safety. There are two widely used methods for monitoring meat quality attributes: subjective sensory evaluation and chemical/instrumentation tests. However, these methods are labor‐intensive, time‐consuming, and destructive. To overcome the shortfalls of these conventional approaches, several researchers have developed fast and nondestructive techniques. Recently, electronic nose (e‐nose), computer vision (CV), spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging (HSI), and multispectral imaging (MSI) technologies have been explored as nondestructive methods in meat quality and safety evaluation. However, most of the studies on the application of these novel technologies are still in the preliminary stages and are carried out in isolation, often without comprehensive information on the most suitable approach. This lack of cohesive information on the strength and shortcomings of each technique could impact their application and commercialization for the detection of important meat attributes such as pH, marbling, or microbial spoilage. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of recent nondestructive technologies (e‐nose, CV, spectroscopy, HSI, and MSI), as well as their applications and limitations in the detection and evaluation of meat quality and safety issues, such as contamination, adulteration, and quality classification. A discussion is also included on the challenges and future outlooks of the respective technologies and their various applications.

Sensory and Instrumental Methods of Meat Evaluation: A Review

“…The results of most previous studies did not correspond significantly to the chemical or microbiological changes of the meat in some studies where sensory evaluation for meat quality evaluation was used, and the results found in most previous studies did not correspond significantly to the chemical or microbiological changes of the meat [2]. When using sensory evaluation to measure microbiological features, the inaccuracy can sometimes be too significant, resulting in a false positive or false negative.…”

“…The demand for the use of nondestructive procedures in evaluating meat quality and safety qualities has increased due to the rapid rise in public knowledge and concern for superior meat quality [2]. According to the literature reviewed, the most sophisticated methods for evaluating meat quality that is based on imaging and the electromagnetic spectrum meet the demand criteria of being quick, nondestructive, and suitable for online/in-line monitoring.…”

“…Color, flavor, and fragrance are the consumer's first perceptions of meat quality, and they have a direct impact on purchasing decisions. Water holding capacity (WHC), marbling, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) test results are some of the physical characteristics [2]. Total viable content (TVC) and bacterial infection are two of the most important microbiological criteria in determining the quality and safety of meat.…”

“…Various findings of the usage of e-nose in meat quality and safety detection indicated that e-nose technology has been successfully implemented in meat quality detection and can be used as a promising tool to quickly evaluate meat quality and safety, as well as to detect meat adulteration [2]. With the use of proper pattern recognition algorithms for data processing, the e-nose procedures achieved satisfactory results of almost 90% average accuracy [41].…”

“…However, the high perishability of such products necessitates the use of one or more conservation or processing procedures. As a result of an increasing number of recent safety issues and product issues, the meat industry has turned its attention to ensuring the quality and safety of raw and processed meat [2].…”