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. 2022 Feb 18;11(4):592.
doi: 10.3390/foods11040592.

Non-Destructive Measuring Systems for the Evaluation of High Oxygen Stored Poultry: Development of Headspace Gas Composition, Sensory and Microbiological Spoilage

Jasmin Dold  1 , Caroline Kehr  1 , Clarissa Hollmann  1 , Horst-Christian Langowski  2   3
Affiliations

Non-Destructive Measuring Systems for the Evaluation of High Oxygen Stored Poultry: Development of Headspace Gas Composition, Sensory and Microbiological Spoilage

Jasmin Dold et al. Foods. .

Abstract

As poultry is known to be a perishable food, the use-by date is set in such a way that food safety is guaranteed even with a higher initial bacterial count. This means, however, that some products are wasted, even if they are still safe to eat. Therefore, non-destructive measurement devices might be a good opportunity for individual shelf-life prediction, e.g., in retail. The aim of this study was therefore to use non-destructive measurement devices based on fluorescence quenching (oxygen detection) and mid-infrared laser spectroscopy (carbon dioxide detection) for the monitoring of high-oxygen-packed poultry in different storage conditions. During 15 days of storage, the gas composition of the headspace was assessed (non-destructively and destructively), while total plate count was monitored and a comprehensive sensory evaluation was performed by a trained panel. We were able to demonstrate that in most cases, non-destructive devices have comparable precision to destructive devices. For both storage conditions, the sensory attribute slime was correlated with reaching the critical microbiological value of 107 CFU/g; the attribute buttery was also useful for the prediction of regularly stored poultry. The change in the gas atmosphere as a sign of premature spoilage, however, was only possible for samples stored in irregular conditions.

Keywords: fluorescence quenching; infrared spectroscopy; meat quality; modified atmosphere packaging; non-destructive; sensory evaluation; shelf-life prediction.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Development of the relative volume concentration of O2 (●/●) and CO2 (▲/▲) for a headspace:meat ratio of 6:1 (●/▲) and 3:1 (●/▲) at a storage temperature of 10 °C for 11 days (n = 2 for each measuring point).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison between the destructive (■/◆) and non-destructive (●/▲) measurement devices for the investigation of O2 (■/●) and CO2 (◆/▲) during the storage of poultry over 15 days under different storage conditions: (a) 70% O2/30% CO2 4 °C (b) 70% O2/30% CO2 10 °C (c) 80% O2/20% CO2 4 °C (d) 80% O2/20% CO2 10 °C. Indices indicate a significant difference between the curves measured with the destructive and non-destructive measurement devices: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Development of O2 (○/●) and CO2 (△/▲) under different storage conditions over 15 days in trays with (●/▲) and without poultry (○/△): (a) 70% O2/30% CO2 4 °C (b) 70% O2/30% CO2 10 °C (c) 80% O2/20% CO2 4 °C (d) 80% O2/20% CO2 10 °C. Indices indicate a significant difference between the curves with and without poultry: * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001. The red circles mark the point when the curve of the respective gas concentration in the filled trays intersects that for the empty trays (cross-over), which indicates a microbiologically induced change in the headspace atmosphere.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Development of the total viable count (TVC) for poultry stored under different storage conditions over 15 days in trays with initial gas concentrations of 70% O2/30% CO2 (▲) and 80% O2/20% CO2 (●) at (a) 4 °C and (b) 10 °C.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a,b): Sensory evaluation of the poultry stored at 4 °C by the panel with the chosen descriptors for (a) visual and (b) olfactory attributes on day 0 (grey line), after reaching the critical value of 107 CFU/g (70% O2/30% CO2: light green; 80% O2/20% CO2: yellow) and on day 14 (70% O2/30% CO2: dark green; 80% O2/20% CO2: brown). (c,d): Change in the overall visual (▲) and olfactory (●) impression during the storage time: (c) 70% O2/30% CO2 4 °C and (d) 80% O2/20% CO2 4 °C. The red line marks the point when the microbiological limit value was achieved. The purple area indicates the previously defined sensory limit of 50 scores.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(a,b): Sensory evaluation of poultry stored at 10 °C by the panel with the chosen descriptors for (a) visual and (b) olfactory attributes on day 0 (grey line), after reaching the critical value of 107 CFU/g (70% O2/30% CO2: light blue; 80% O2/20% CO2: pink) and on day 8 (70% O2/30% CO2: dark blue; 80% O2/20% CO2: red). (c,d): Change in the overall visual (▲) and olfactory (●) impression during the storage time: (c) 70% O2/30% CO2 10 °C and (d) 80% O2/20% CO2 10 °C. The red line marks the point when the microbiological limit value was achieved. The purple area indicates the previously defined sensory limit of 50 scores.
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