Unraveling the Chicken Meat Volatilome with Nanostructured Sensors: Impact of Live and Dehydrated Insect Larvae Feeding

Abstract

Incorporating insect meals into poultry diets has emerged as a sustainable alternative to conventional feed sources, offering nutritional, welfare benefits, and environmental advantages. This study aims to monitor and compare volatile compounds emitted from raw poultry carcasses and subsequently from cooked chicken pieces from animals fed with different diets, including the utilization of insect-based feed ingredients. Alongside the use of traditional analytical techniques, like solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS), to explore the changes in VOC emissions, we investigate the potential of S3+ technology. This small device, which uses an array of six metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors (MOXs), can differentiate poultry products based on their volatile profiles. By testing MOX sensors in this context, we can develop a portable, cheap, rapid, non-invasive, and non-destructive method for assessing food quality and safety. Indeed, understanding changes in volatile compounds is crucial to assessing control measures in poultry production along the entire supply chain, from the field to the fork. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was applied using MOX sensor readings as predictor variables and different gas classes as target variables, successfully discriminating the various samples based on their total volatile profiles. By optimizing feed composition and monitoring volatile compounds, poultry producers can enhance both the sustainability and safety of poultry production systems, contributing to a more efficient and environmentally friendly poultry industry.