Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Review on Its Application to the Red Meat Industry with an Australian Context

Abstract

The red meat supply chain is a complex network transferring product from producers to consumers in a safe and secure way. There can be times when fragmentation can arise within the supply chain, which could be exploited. This risk needs reduction so that meat products enter the market with the desired attributes. Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) is a novel ambient mass spectrometry technique originally developed for rapid and accurate classification of biological tissue which is now being considered for use in a range of additional applications. It has subsequently shown promise for a range of food provenance, quality and safety applications with its ability to conduct ex vivo and in situ analysis. These are regarded as critical characteristics for technologies which can enable real-time decision making in meat processing plants and more broadly throughout the sector. This review presents an overview of the REIMS technology, and its application to the areas of provenance, quality and safety to the red meat industry, particularly in an Australian context.

Keywords: REIMS; food safety; lipidomics; metabolomics; provenance; quality; red meat.

Figure 2

(A) Experimental setup for bacterial analysis using bipolar forceps with REIMS (reproduced from [12]), and (B) droplet formation in REIMS (reproduced from [102]).

Figure 1

Visualization of the PLSDA model for a variety of model sets relevant to various carcass groups, reproduced from [28].

Figure 3

Principal component analysis (PCA)-linear discriminant analysis (LDA) plot differentiating seven strains of E. coli using REIMS, reproduced from [102].

Figure 4

P. aeruginosa REIMS mass spectral output showing the presence of typical phospholipids and the additional rhamnolipid and quorum sensing molecules, reproduced from [106]. The * indicates the peak of the leucine enkaphalin which is used a mass standard for REIMS.