Chromatographic Volatilomics for Microbial Spoilage Monitoring in Refrigerated Meat

Fresh meat spoils quickly because bacteria grow easily on it, so there is a need for a fast way to check its hygiene and quality to help keep food safe and reduce waste and financial losses. Researchers at the University of Córdoba (Spain) report that, for the first time, a correlation between the volatilome of refrigerated raw meat determined by headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) or by solid phase microextraction (SPME)-GC-mass spectrometry (MS) and total viable counts (TVCs) of different microorganisms (mesophiles, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms and yeasts), through the use of partial least squares regression (PLSR), as an alternative to traditional in ¹vitro tests. A paper based on this research was published in Meat Science.¹

How Can Volatile Compounds Be Used to Assess Meat Spoilage and Quality?

Fresh meat is a highly perishable product because it is easily affected by things like oxidation, bacteria growth, and natural breakdown by enzymes.² In addition, it provides an ideal environment for microbes to grow because it contains plenty of water, sugars, proteins, amino acids, and fats. When stored in cool, oxygen-rich conditions, a mix of microorganisms can develop, including bacteria and yeasts. Over time, these are often dominated by certain types of bacteria such as Pseudomonas, as well as members of the Enterobacteriaceae family (some of which come from fecal sources, like coliforms). Yeasts and molds also appear but usually take several days to develop, along with some Gram-positive bacteria.³ During storage, meat gives off different gases and smells, such as aldehydes, ketones, organic acids, and sulfur-containing compounds. These are produced by bacteria and natural oxidation, and they can be used as signs that the meat is spoiling.^4,5 “Hence,” write the authors of the paper, “the volatile organic compound (VOC) profile may be correlated with meat microbiome and spoilage, thus offering a valuable tool for the evaluation of its quality.¹

The researchers believe that there is a growing need for faster and more reliable ways to check meat quality that can improve or replace traditional methods, which often rely on human judgment and have limitations. This highlights the importance of new techniques based on analyzing volatile compounds using GC–IMS, which can provide quicker, cheaper results without using chemical reagents. These factors inspired them to link the smell-related chemical profile of refrigerated meat (measured using headspace GC–IMS) with the total number of microorganisms present, to better understand meat freshness. In addition, the team set out to identify specific compounds that indicate when meat is no longer safe to eat and to compare two analytical methods for doing this. Overall, the approach could help estimate safe storage time more accurately and reduce food waste (aligned with target 12.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals).⁶

Can HS-GC-IMS Be Used for Rapid, Sensitive Detection of Meat Spoilage and Shelf-Life Indicators?

According to the researchers, HS-GC-IMS showed superior performance over HS-GC-MS, yielding highly predictive non-targeted models (R² > 0.80) with higher sensitivity for the early detection of spoilage markers, without sample pretreatment. 3-methyl-1-butanol was identified as the most relevant indicator of end of shelf-life.¹

“These findings,” write the authors of the paper,¹ “demonstrate that the developed HS-GC-IMS culture-independent method is useful for quick real-time monitoring of meat freshness for hygiene quality control.”

The researchers admit that, while the developed predictive models serve as a methodological proof-of-concept, they are limited by a single biological source. Future studies, in their opinion, should validate the obtained results with a significant number of samples and determine how SSOs directly influence key VOC under controlled conditions.¹

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References

1. Martín-Gómez, A.; Ruiz-Castilla, F. J.; Rodríguez-Estévez, V. et al. Development of a HS-GC-IMS Predictive Method for Estimating Meat Spoilage via VOCs Profiling. Meat Sci. 2026, 238, 110117. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2026.110117
2. Galanakis, C. M. Food Quality and Shelf Life; Academic Press, 2019.
3. Nychas, G. J.; Skandamis, P. N.; Tassou, C.C. et al. Meat Spoilage During Distribution. Meat Sci.2008, 78 (1–2), 77-89. DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2007.06.020
4. Bekhit, A.E.-D.A.; Holman, B.W.B.; Giteru, S. G. et al. Total Volatile Basic Nitrogen (TVB-N) and its Role in Meat Spoilage: A Review. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 2021, 109, 280-302. DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2021.01.006
5. Casaburi, A.; Piombino, P.; Nychas, G. J. et al. Bacterial Populations and the Volatilome Associated to Meat Spoilage. Food Microbiol. 2015, 45 (Pt A), 83-102. DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2014.02.002
6. Jacob-John, J.; D’Souza, C.; Marjoribanks, T. et al. Sustainable Development Goals: A Review of SDG 12.3 in Food Supply Chain Literature. BIJ2022, 30 (9), 3465-3481. DOI: 10.1108/bij-12-2021-0736