Monitoring of the Concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds in Beef Meat after Radiation Processing with Accelerated Electrons

Oxidation of lipids and proteins occurs in food products with a high concentration of fat and water such as chilled meat and fish under the action of ionizing radiation, which leads to the formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the product and appearance of specific smell and taste. During storage, various biochemical processes occur in processed chilled products which also result in a change in the concentration of VOCs that affect the organoleptic properties of the product. The accumulation of volatile compounds identified in beef samples both immediately after radiation processing and within four days after irradiation is studied by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to determine the effective dose range for the radiation processing of beef. Monitoring of the concentration of VOCs in samples of chilled beef meat irradiated with accelerated electrons with the energy of 1 MeV in a dose range of 0.25 to 5 kGy reveals explicit dependences of the concentrations of certain alcohols, aldehydes, and alkanes on the absorbed dose and storage time. The proposed mathematical model that describes the dependences of the concentrations of VOCs identified immediately after irradiation in beef samples on the irradiation dose is based on the simultaneous occurrence of two competing processes: decomposition of compounds due to their oxidation and accumulation due to the oxidation of other compounds after exposure to ionizing radiation. It is found on the basis of the results of the study that the effective dose range of radiation processing is 250 to 1000 Gy.