ESTIMATION OF FRESHNESS OF BEEF USING NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

As adenosine 5ʹ-triphosphate (ATP) is automatically degraded during storage of beef, Ki-value increases. From an experimental result showing that Ki-value was highly proportional to the volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) of beef, it was confirmed in this study that Ki-value could be a useful index for the freshness of beef. Therefore, a calibration model for estimating Ki-value was developed using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and principal component regression (PCR), and validated. The coefficient of determination (R2), standard error of calibration (SEC), and standard error of prediction (SEP) of the calibration model developed using the absorption spectra were 0.53, 8.7%, and 9.3%, respectively. To improve the prediction of the calibration model, the second-order derivative spectra were calculated and used to develop a calibration model. The NIR wavelength range of 1200 to 1300 nm produced the best calibration model, of which the R2, SEC, and SEP were 0.93, 8.3%, and 7.7%, respectively. It was concluded that it was feasible to estimate the freshness of beef through measurement of Ki-value with NIRS.