Using an electronic nose for determining the spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef.

The use of an electronic nose in the quantitative determination of the degree of spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef was evaluated. Beef from four different slaughterhouses was sliced, vacuum-packaged and stored at 4 degrees C for 8 weeks. Samples were withdrawn for bacterial (aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas and Enterobacteriaceae) and sensorial analyses and analysis of the volatile compounds during the storage period. A trained panel was used for the sensorial evaluations. The volatile compounds were analysed using an electronic nose containing a sensory array composed of 10 metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors, four Tagushi type sensors and one CO2-sensitive sensor. Four of the 15 sensors were excluded due to lack of response or overloading. Partial least-squares regression was used to define the mathematical relationships between the degree of spoilage of vacuum-packaged beef, as determined by the sensory panel, and the signal magnitudes of the sensors of the electronic nose. The mathematical models were validated after 6 months using a new set of samples. The stability of the sensors during this period was examined and it was shown that the sensitivity of five of the 11 sensors used had changed. Using the six remaining sensors, the signal patterns obtained from the meat from the different slaughterhouses did not change over a period of 6 months. It was shown that the degree of spoilage, as calculated using a model based on two Tagushi sensors, correlated well with the degree of spoilage determined by the sensory panel (r2 = 0.94).