Rapid Evaluation of Poultry Meat Shelf Life Using PTR-MS

The use of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for freshness classification of chicken and turkey meat samples was investigated. A number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were selected based on the correlation (> 95%) of their concentration during storage at 4 °C over a period of 5 days with the results of the microbial analysis. In order to verify if the selected compounds are not sample-specific, a number of samples sourced from various retailers were classified using the concentration of these compounds in the samples' volatile fraction as input variables. The classification was performed using the support vector machines (SVM) supervised pattern recognition algorithm. It was concluded that it is possible to evaluate the shelf life of meat samples obtained from the same source based on the results of a prior analysis. The PTR-MS fingerprint approach might supplement the currently used methods of shelf life evaluation of poultry due to the short time and non-destructive nature of measurement and ease of quantitative analysis.