Development of a HS-GC-IMS predictive method for estimating meat spoilage via VOCs profiling

Fresh meat is highly susceptible to spoilage by microbial growth; thus, a method for its rapid hygiene quality assessment is needed to ensure food safety and minimize economic losses. This study reports, 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-MS (Mass Spectrometry) 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 vitro tests. 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. These findings demonstrate that the developed HS-GC-IMS culture-independent method is useful for quick real-time monitoring of meat freshness for hygiene quality control.