Monitoring the Processing of Dry Fermented Sausages with a Portable NIRS Device

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Process Engineering

Background:

• Dry fermented sausages require precise monitoring of physicochemical and sensory attributes during ripening.
• Traditional methods for assessing sausage quality can be time-consuming and destructive.
• Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy offers a rapid, non-invasive alternative for process monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a portable MicroNIR device for monitoring the dry fermented sausage process.
• To assess the capability of multivariate data analysis in classifying fermentation and drying stages.
• To determine if NIR spectroscopy can serve as a feasible decision-making tool for sausage processing.

Main Methods:

• Thirty dry fermented sausages were produced and analyzed across four main stages.
• Physicochemical parameters (weight loss, pH, moisture, water activity, color, hardness, TBARS) and sensory data were collected.
• Near-infrared (NIR) spectra were acquired, and data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN), and Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA).

Main Results:

• Multivariate data analysis successfully monitored and classified the different ripening stages, particularly fermentation and drying.
• The portable NIR device demonstrated high accuracy in distinguishing between process stages.
• Principal Component Analysis (PCA) effectively reduced dimensionality in both physicochemical and spectral datasets.

Conclusions:

• A portable NIR device (MicroNIR) is a non-destructive, rapid, and cost-effective tool for monitoring dry fermented sausage processing.
• NIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate analysis provides a feasible method for classifying sausage samples based on their processing stage.
• This technology can support decision-making for advancing sausages to subsequent processing steps, optimizing quality control.