An Asymmetric Neuro-Fuzzy Model for the Detection of Meat Spoilage

In food industry, quality and safety parameters are direct related with consumers’ health condition. There is a growing interest in developing non-invasive sensorial techniques that have the capability of predicting quality attributes in realtime operation. Among other detection methodologies, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been widely used for rapid inspection of various food products. In this paper, an advanced clustering-based neurofuzzy identification model has been developed to detect meat spoilage microorganisms during aerobic storage at various temperatures, utilizing FTIR spectra. A clustering scheme has been utilized as an initial step for defining the fuzzy rules while an asymmetric Gaussian membership function has been used in the fuzzification part of the model. The proposed model not only classifies meat samples in their respective quality class (i.e. fresh, semi-fresh and spoiled), but also predicts their associated microbiological population directly from FTIR spectra. Results verified the superiority of the proposed scheme against the adaptive neurofuzzy inference system, multilayer perceptron and partial least squares in terms of prediction accuracy

An Intelligent Decision Support System for the Detection of Meat Spoilage using Multispectral Images

In food industry, quality and safety are considered important issues worldwide that are directly related to health and social progress. The use of vision technology for quality testing of food production has the obvious advantage of being able to continuously monitor a production using non-destructive methods, thus increasing the quality and minimizing cost. The performance of an intelligent decision support system has been evaluated in monitoring the spoilage of minced beef stored either aerobically or under modified atmosphere packaging, at different storage temperatures (0, 5, 10, and 15 °C) utilising multispectral imaging information. This paper utilises a neuro-fuzzy model which incorporates a clustering pre-processing stage for the definition of fuzzy rules, while its final fuzzy rule base is determined by competitive learning. Initially, meat samples are classified according to their storage conditions, while identification models are then utilised for the prediction of the Total Viable Counts of bacteria. The innovation of the proposed approach is further extended to the identification of the temperature used for storage, utilizing only imaging spectral information. Results indicated that spectral information in combination with the proposed modelling scheme could be considered as an alternative methodology for the accurate evaluation of meat spoilage

Recent development in electronic nose data processing for beef quality assessment

Beef is kind of perishable food that easily to decay. Hence, a rapid system for beef quality assessment is needed to guarantee the quality of beef. In the last few years, electronic nose (e-nose) is developed for beef spoilage detection. In this paper, we discuss the challenges of e-nose application to beef quality assessment, especially in e-nose data processing. We also provide a summary of our previous studies that explains several methods to deal with gas sensor noise, sensor array optimization problem, beef quality classification, and prediction of the microbial population in beef sample. This paper might be useful for researchers and practitioners to understand the challenges and methods of e-nose data processing for beef quality assessment

Neuro-Fuzzy Based Intelligent Approaches to Nonlinear System Identification and Forecasting

Nearly three decades back nonlinear system identification consisted of several ad-hoc approaches, which were restricted to a very limited class of systems. However, with the advent of the various soft computing methodologies like neural networks and the fuzzy logic combined with optimization techniques, a wider class of systems can be handled at present. Complex systems may be of diverse characteristics and nature. These systems may be linear or nonlinear, continuous or discrete, time varying or time invariant, static or dynamic, short term or long term, central or distributed, predictable or unpredictable, ill or well defined. Neurofuzzy hybrid modelling approaches have been developed as an ideal technique for utilising linguistic values and numerical data. This Thesis is focused on the development of advanced neurofuzzy modelling architectures and their application to real case studies. Three potential requirements have been identified as desirable characteristics for such design: A model needs to have minimum number of rules; a model needs to be generic acting either as Multi-Input-Single-Output (MISO) or Multi-Input-Multi-Output (MIMO) identification model; a model needs to have a versatile nonlinear membership function. Initially, a MIMO Adaptive Fuzzy Logic System (AFLS) model which incorporates a prototype defuzzification scheme, while utilising an efficient, compared to the Takagi–Sugeno–Kang (TSK) based systems, fuzzification layer has been developed for the detection of meat spoilage using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The identification strategy involved not only the classification of beef fillet samples in their respective quality class (i.e. fresh, semi-fresh and spoiled), but also the simultaneous prediction of their associated microbiological population directly from FTIR spectra. In the case of AFLS, the number of memberships for each input variable was directly associated to the number of rules, hence, the “curse of dimensionality” problem was significantly reduced. Results confirmed the advantage of the proposed scheme against Adaptive Neurofuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Partial Least Squares (PLS) techniques used in the same case study. In the case of MISO systems, the TSK based structure, has been utilized in many neurofuzzy systems, like ANFIS. At the next stage of research, an Adaptive Fuzzy Inference Neural Network (AFINN) has been developed for the monitoring the spoilage of minced beef utilising multispectral imaging information. This model, which follows the TSK structure, incorporates a clustering pre-processing stage for the definition of fuzzy rules, while its final fuzzy rule base is determined by competitive learning. In this specific case study, AFINN model was also able to predict for the first time in the literature, the beef’s temperature directly from imaging information. Results again proved the superiority of the adopted model. By extending the line of research and adopting specific design concepts from the previous case studies, the Asymmetric Gaussian Fuzzy Inference Neural Network (AGFINN) architecture has been developed. This architecture has been designed based on the above design principles. A clustering preprocessing scheme has been applied to minimise the number of fuzzy rules. AGFINN incorporates features from the AFLS concept, by having the same number of rules as well as fuzzy memberships. In spite of the extensive use of the standard symmetric Gaussian membership functions, AGFINN utilizes an asymmetric function acting as input linguistic node. Since the asymmetric Gaussian membership function’s variability and flexibility are higher than the traditional one, it can partition the input space more effectively. AGFINN can be built either as an MISO or as an MIMO system. In the MISO case, a TSK defuzzification scheme has been implemented, while two different learning algorithms have been implemented. AGFINN has been tested on real datasets related to electricity price forecasting for the ISO New England Power Distribution System. Its performance was compared against a number of alternative models, including ANFIS, AFLS, MLP and Wavelet Neural Network (WNN), and proved to be superior. The concept of asymmetric functions proved to be a valid hypothesis and certainly it can find application to other architectures, such as in Fuzzy Wavelet Neural Network models, by designing a suitable flexible wavelet membership function. AGFINN’s MIMO characteristics also make the proposed architecture suitable for a larger range of applications/problems

Application of an electronic nose coupled with fuzzy-wavelet network for the detection of meat spoilage

Food product safety is one of the most promising areas for the application of electronic noses. During the last twenty years, these sensor-based systems have made odour analyses possible. Their application into the area of food is mainly focused on quality control, freshness evaluation, shelf-life analysis and authenticity assessment. In this paper, the performance of a portable electronic nose has been evaluated in monitoring the spoilage of beef fillets stored either aerobically or under modified atmosphere packaging, at different storage temperatures. A novel multi-output fuzzy wavelet neural network model has been developed, which incorporates a clustering pre-processing stage for the definition of fuzzy rules. The dual purpose of the proposed modelling approach is not only to classify beef samples in the relevant quality class (i.e. fresh, semi-fresh and spoiled), but also to predict their associated microbiological population. Comparison results against advanced machine learning schemes indicated that the proposed modelling scheme could be considered as a valuable detection methodology in food microbiology

Neuro-Fuzzy based Identification of Meat Spoilage using an Electronic Nose

Freshness and safety of muscle foods are generally considered as the most important parameters for the food industry. The performance of a portable electronic nose has been evaluated in monitoring the spoilage of beef fillet stored aerobically at different storage temperatures (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20°C). An adaptive fuzzy logic system model that utilizes a prototype defuzzification scheme has been developed to classify beef samples in their respective quality class and to predict their associated microbiological population directly from volatile compounds fingerprints. Results confirmed the superiority of the adopted methodology and indicated that volatile information in combination with an efficient choice of a modeling scheme could be considered as an alternative methodology for the accurate evaluation of meat spoilag

A Fuzzy-Wavelet Neural Network Model for the Detection of Meat Spoilage using an Electronic Nose

Food product safety is one of the most promising areas for the application of electronic noses. The performance of a portable electronic nose has been evaluated in monitoring the spoilage of beef fillet stored aerobically at different storage temperatures (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20°C). This paper proposes a fuzzy-wavelet neural network model which incorporates a clustering pre-processing stage for the definition of fuzzy rules. The dual purpose of the proposed modeling approach is not only to classify beef samples in the respective quality class (i.e. fresh, semi-fresh and spoiled), but also to predict their associated microbiological population directly from volatile compounds fingerprints. Comparison results indicated that the proposed modeling scheme could be considered as a valuable detection methodology in food microbiolog

A Rapid Detection of Meat Spoilage using an Electronic Nose and Fuzzy-Wavelet systems

Freshness and safety of muscle foods are generally considered as the most important parameters for the food industry. To address the rapid detection of meat spoilage microorganisms during aerobic or modified atmosphere storage, an electronic nose with the aid of fuzzy wavelet network has been considered in this research. The proposed model incorporates a clustering pre-processing stage for the definition of fuzzy rules. The dual purpose of the proposed modelling approach is not only to classify beef samples in the respective quality class (i.e. fresh, semi-fresh and spoiled), but also to predict their associated microbiological population directly from volatile compounds fingerprints. Comparison results against neural networks and neurofuzzy systems indicated that the proposed modelling scheme could be considered as a valuable detection methodology in food microbiolog

Electricity Price Forecasting using Asymmetric Fuzzy Neural Network Systems

Electricity price forecasting is considered as an important tool for energy-related utilities and power generation industries. The deregulation of power market, as well as the competitive financial environment, which have introduced new market players in this field, makes the electricity price forecasting problem a demanding mission. The main focus of this paper is to investigate the performance of asymmetric neuro-fuzzy network models for day-ahead electricity price forecasting. The proposed model has been developed from existing Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy systems by substituting the IF part of fuzzy rules with an asymmetric Gaussian function. In addition, a clustering method is utilised as a pre-processing scheme to identify the initial set and adequate number of clusters and eventually the number of rules in the proposed model. The results corresponding to the minimum and maximum electricity price have indicated that the proposed forecasting scheme could be considered as an improved tool for the forecasting accuracy

Authentication and quality assessment of meat products by fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy

These days, food safety is getting more attention than in the recent past due to consumer awareness, regulations, and industrial competition to offer best quality products. Meat and meat products are very valuable but highly perishable. There is a need for reliable assessment techniques to ensure the safety and quality of these products throughout their shelf life. Classical analytical methods have been replaced with alternative, rapid, simple, and noninvasive methods to enhance productivity and profitability in the meat supply chain. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has become a valuable analytical technique for structural or functional studies related to foods as a rapid, nondestructive, cost-efficient, and sensitive physicochemical fingerprinting method. This technique is readily applicable for routine quality control or industrial applications with a high degree of confidence. FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics has drawn attention to quality control, safety assessment, and authentication purposes in the meat and meat products domain. This review covers fundamental knowledge on FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometric techniques, as well as major applications of this robust method in meat science and technology for adulteration detection, monitoring biochemical and microbiological spoilage and shelf life, determining changes in chemical components such as proteins and lipids