title: Detection of off-flavor in catfish using a conducting polymer electronic-nose technology.
abstract: The Aromascan A32S conducting polymer electronic nose was evaluated for the capability of detecting the presence of off-flavor malodorous compounds in catfish meat fillets to assess meat quality for potential merchantability. Sensor array outputs indicated that the aroma profiles of good-flavor (on-flavor) and off-flavor fillets were strongly different as confirmed by a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a Quality Factor value (QF > 7.9) indicating a significant difference at (P < 0.05). The A32S e-nose effectively discriminated between good-flavor and off-flavor catfish at high levels of accuracy (>90%) and with relatively low rates (≤5%) of unknown or indecisive determinations in three trials. This A32S e-nose instrument also was capable of detecting the incidence of mild off-flavor in fillets at levels lower than the threshold of human olfactory detection. Potential applications of e-nose technologies for pre- and post-harvest management of production and meat-quality downgrade problems associated with catfish off-flavor are discussed.
authors.affiliation: USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, Southern Hardwoods Laboratory, P.O. Box 227, Stoneville, MS 38776, USA. dwilson02@fs.fed.us.
authors.forename: Alphus D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Charisse S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Oberle
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Oberle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002397:Catfishes / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D062609:Electronic Nose; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011786:Quality Control; D012903:Smell
chemical_list: D005421:Flavoring Agents; D011108:Polymers