Role of Biogenic Amines in Protein Foods Sensing: Myths and Evidence

Abstract

Myriads of sensors have been proposed to signal the spoilage of a piece of meat. It is assumed and taken for granted that biogenic amines, BAs, harmful by-product indicating the last phase of degradation, must be present in the volatilome developed over the decaying meat. This chapter aims to clearly explain BAs’ role in protein food spoilage: undoubtedly produced inside the meat, never present in the headspace, where sensors are displayed. The BAs presence in the headspace represents a sort of myth. It is plenty of evidence that BAs cannot be present in the volatilome over the meat. The BAs’ volatility is pH-dependent. As shown by their protonation constants, the strongly buffered pH of proteinaceous food prevents their vapour phase transition. The chemical analyses made at the same degradation time, on the meat and the headspace above the meat, corroborate the real composition of the volatilome, demonstrating the BAs absence. The sensors here described, designed on volatilome evidence, succeed to follow the entire process, from the SAFE condition to the WARNING and the HAZARD. The final prototype works reliably on real protein foods (i.e. chicken, beef pork and fish), not enriched and stored at the home condition.

Freshness Traffic Light for Fish Products: Dual-Optode Label to Monitor Fish Spoilage in Sales Packages

“…Then, in the second spoilage step, the so-called "spoilage", bacterial protein degradation begins with the consequent release of thiols and amines. As deeply discussed in the literature, 39 only a few of these byproducts are actually volatile at buffered pH typical of biological matrixes; thus, only a slight increase of pH could be observed. a-CR-EVOH@ detects this headspace atmosphere modification by changing its color from pink (H 2 CR + ) to yellow (HCR) within day 4 and day 5.…”

Poly(2-isoproprenyl-2-oxazoline)-Based Reactive Hydrophilic Cross-Linked Nanofiber Networks as the Basis for Colorimetric Continuous Meat Freshness Monitoring Sensors

“…As supported by literature, the degradation of proteinaceous food products (e.g., fish and meat) occurs in different steps accompanied by a characteristic change in the headspace above the product. 20,62,83 First, the bacterial degradation of sugars and fats occurs, resulting in the production of molecules able to migrate from the meat to the headspace. In this phase, the main volatile organic compounds, VOCs, are dominated by ethanol and free fatty acids, mainly acetic acid.…”

Biogenic Amines in Meat and Meat Products: A Review of the Science and Future Perspectives

“…Finally, a strategic area of research will probably be the development of sensors for BAs assessment in meat, to evaluate meat freshness and shelf-life. In this respect, Biesuz and Magnaghi [58] recently analyzed the state of the art, discussed the challenge of the BAs volatility, and developed a set of five sensors that were able to describe the entire spoilage process of chicken samples.…”

“…In this regard, the use of BAs indexes to monitor the freshness of minced meat [28], imported meat and meat products [37], ready to eat street-food [84] is documented in the scientific literature. Anyway, as reviewed by Biesuz and Magnaghi [58], there are still misleading concepts in developing newer BAs determination methods. As highlighted by Wakas et al [85], several limitations on quantification are posed from matrix effects and sample pretreatment procedures.…”