Electronic tongue measurements as a predictor for sensory properties of vacuum-packed minced beef – A preliminary study

Changes in meat sensory quality during storage are difficult to assess accurately and objectively. Advanced analytical technologies for sensory assessment could help predict sensory changes. In this study, vacuum-packed (VP) minced beef was incubated at four different temperatures until the end of its quality shelf-life, before conducting instrumental taste analysis with an Insent electronic tongue and analysis of volatile compounds with headspace SPME GC-MS. It was found that storage time and storage temperature variables explained variation in odour, sourness and umami (adjusted R-squared values of 61 %, 58 % and 63 % respectively), with a relationship identified between sourness and umami tastes and the abundance of volatile compounds (2-butanone, methyl butyrate, methyl valerate and ethyl acetate), and trained panel scores of the odour of beef. The results highlighted that instrumental taste measurements could be used as a potential predictor of sensory shelf-life in vacuum packed beef.