Document Type

Theses, Ph.D

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Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Publication Details

A thesis submitted for the degree of PhD to Technological University Dublin, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Sept. 2017.

Abstract

Meat and meat products are highly nutritious, containing important levels of protein, vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, which are important for human growth and development. Beef has emerged as an important protein source in human diets. Minced beef is the primary ingredient for a variety of products such as burgers, meat balls, meat pastes, sausages and so on. Authenticity of the meat is a major requirement to meet the demands of consumers and assuring compliance with the government regulations and safety standards. Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) are sensing solutions which provide real time quality control and assurance. Laser Induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an emerging technology in the area of mineral analysis in food. The unique spectral features obtained from NIR spectroscopy, HSI and LIBS make these techniques suitable for Process Analytical Technology (PAT) applications. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the efficacy of novel spectroscopic techniques such as multi-point NIR spectroscopy, HSI and LIBS for performing quality monitoring of minced beef. A multi-point NIR system was successfully evaluated to identify and predict compositional attributes of minced beef such as moisture, fat, protein and ash; illustrating various features of the device. A HSI system was also successfully evaluated for identification and prediction of compositional attributes of minced beef along with chemical imaging. A LIBS system was successfully evaluated for: (a) quantification of minerals such as sodium (Na), potassium (K) and rubidium (Rb) in minced beef, (b) explore the potential of LIBS to detect offal adulteration and (c) demonstrate the ability of LIBS to provide spatial information of elements. Overall, the study illustrated the potential of these novel spectroscopic techniques for at/on/in-line quality monitoring of minced beef.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/D7H16G


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