Instrumental assessment of the sensory quality of meat, poultry and fish

The sensory parameters that define the quality of meat, poultry and fish products form the basis for instrumental methods such as those that measure colour, texture and aroma. This chapter will discuss these methods of instrumental measurement, their advantages, disadvantages and applications. It will discuss sensory-based instrumental colour methods such as colorimetry and those based on computer vision technology, traditional texture systems and odour-based instrumental methods such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and the electronic nose. Near infrared (NIR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy methods will be discussed as an emerging technology for meat, poultry and fish quality assessment.