Non-destructive imaging and spectroscopic techniques for assessment of carcass and meat quality in sheep and goats: a review

In the last decade, there has been a significant development in rapid, non-destructive and non-invasive techniques to evaluate carcass composition and meat quality of meat species. This article aims to review the recent technological advances of non-destructive and non-invasive techniques to provide objective data to evaluate carcass composition and quality traits of sheep and goat meat. We highlight imaging and spectroscopy techniques and practical aspects, such as accuracy, reliability, cost, portability, speed and ease of use. For the imaging techniques, recent improvements in the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to assess sheep and goat carcass and meat quality will be addressed. Optical technologies are gaining importance for monitoring and evaluating the quality and safety of carcasses and meat and, among them, those that deserve more attention are visible and infrared reflectance spectroscopy, hyperspectral imagery and Raman spectroscopy. In this work, advances in research involving these techniques in their application to sheep and goats are presented and discussed. In recent years, there has been substantial investment and research in fast, non-destructive and easy-to-use technology to raise the standards of quality and food safety in all stages of sheep and goat meat production. © 2020 by the authors.Authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); Laboratory of Carcass and Meat Quality of Agriculture School of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança ‘Cantinho do Alfredo’. The authors A. Teixeira and S. Rodrigues are members of the Healthy Meat network, funded by CYTED (ref. 119RT0568). CECAV authors are thankful to the project UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A review of optical nondestructive visual and near-infrared methods for food quality and safety

This paper is a review of optical methods for online nondestructive food quality monitoring. The key spectral areas are the visual and near-infrared wavelengths. We have collected the information of over 260 papers published mainly during the last 20 years. Many of them use an analysis method called chemometrics which is shortly described in the paper. The main goal of this paper is to provide a general view of work done according to different FAO food classes. Hopefully using optical VIS/NIR spectroscopy gives an idea of how to better meet market and consumer needs for high-quality food stuff.©2013 the Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

How far can we classify macroalgae remotely? An example using a new spectral library of species from the south west atlantic (argentine patagonia)

Macroalgae have attracted the interest of remote sensing as targets to study coastal marine ecosystems because of their key ecological role. The goal of this paper is to analyze a new spectral library, including 28 macroalgae from the South-West Atlantic coast, in order to assess its use in hyperspectral remote sensing. The library includes species collected in the Atlantic Patagonian coast (Argentina) with representatives of brown, red, and green algae, being 22 of the species included in a spectral library for the first time. The spectra of these main groups are described, and the intraspecific variability is also assessed, considering kelp differentiated tissues and depth range, discussing them from the point of view of their effects on spectral features. A classification and an independent component analysis using the spectral range and simulated bands of two state-of-the-art drone-borne hyperspectral sensors were performed. The results show spectral features and clusters identifying further algae taxonomic groups, showing the potential applications of this spectral library for drone-based mapping of this ecological and economical asset of our coastal marine ecosystems.Fil: Olmedo Masat, Olga Magalí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Raffo, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez Pérez, Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia; EspañaFil: Arijón, Marianela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Carnero, Noela Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentin

Portable Hyperspectral Imaging Device for Surface Sanitation Verification in the Produce Industry

Produce processors must clean and sanitize surfaces before production to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Current surface hygiene verification methods require direct surface sub-sampling at selected locations and a wait time. To augment these methods, a portable hyperspectral imaging device was developed to find potential contaminants in real-time and increase sub-sampling effectiveness. Analysis of hyperspectral fluorescence images showed that fresh-cut produce processing exudates in the regions of 460-540 and 670-680 nm are detectable from background materials, while select cleaning agents are not. The portable single operator imaging system includes a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, tunable optical filter, laptop, light emitting diodes (LED's) for fluorescence excitation, and a touchscreen display. Within a commercial plant, fluorescence imaging identified produce processing residuals following routine cleaning procedures that were not readily visible to the naked eye. These tests demonstrate the system's potential to enhance post-cleaning inspection, and helped improve routine cleaning procedures

Raman spectroscopy: techniques and applications in the life sciences

Raman spectroscopy is an increasingly popular technique in many areas including biology and medicine. It is based on Raman scattering, a phenomenon in which incident photons lose or gain energy via interactions with vibrating molecules in a sample. These energy shifts can be used to obtain information regarding molecular composition of the sample with very high accuracy. Applications of Raman spectroscopy in the life sciences have included quantification of biomolecules, hyperspectral molecular imaging of cells and tissue, medical diagnosis, and others. This review briefly presents the physical origin of Raman scattering explaining the key classical and quantum mechanical concepts. Variations of the Raman effect will also be considered, including resonance, coherent, and enhanced Raman scattering. We discuss the molecular origins of prominent bands often found in the Raman spectra of biological samples. Finally, we examine several variations of Raman spectroscopy techniques in practice, looking at their applications, strengths, and challenges. This review is intended to be a starting resource for scientists new to Raman spectroscopy, providing theoretical background and practical examples as the foundation for further study and exploration

Assessment of passive optical remote sensing for mapping macroalgae communities on the Galician coast

[Abstract] Coastal zones represent the transition between terrestrial and aquatic environment being one of the most dynamic and productive ecosystems on the Earth. Benthic algal communities play an important role in coastal ecosystems. Due to their ecological and economic importance there is a strong need for methods that allow collecting quantitative and qualitative information about macroalgal benthic communities, in order to allow their efficient assessment, monitoring and management. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) have a potential use in the generation of digital geographic information. However, at the beginning of this thesis the lack of information in Galicia related to this field was remarkable. Only little information was available for users and in most of the cases it was too coarse or the administrative process for data acquisition too arduous. For this reason, this thesis was originally designed as a contribution for the generation of digital geographic data for the littoral zone, where this scarcity was more significant. In this sense a shoreline of Galicia was digitized and several kind of remote sensors were assessed to map macroalgal communities. These sensors allowed the differentiation of different macroalgal groups until an specific depth depending on their spectral and spatial resolution.[Resumo] As zonas costeiras representan a transición entre o ambiente acuático e o terrestre sendo un dos ecosistemas máis dinámicos e productivos da Terra. As comunidades de algas bentónicas xogan un papel fundamental neste tipo de ecosistemas. Dada a súa importancia ecolóxia e económica fanse necesarios métodos que permitan unha recolección de información tanto cuantitativa como cualitativa para a súa eficiente valoración, monitorización e xestión. Os Sistemas de Información Xeográfica (SIX) e a teledetección teñen un uso potencial na xeración de información xeográfica. Sen embargo, durante o planteamento desta tese, en Galicia encontrábase dispoñible escasa información para os usuarios e na maioría dos casos era de pouco detalle ou o proceso administrativo para a súa adquisición demasiado arduo. Por esta razón, esta tese foi orixinalmente deseñada como unha contribución á xeración de datos xeográficos dixitales da zona litoral, donde a escaseza é máis significante. Neste sentido, dixitalizouse unha liña de costa de Galicia e valoráronse varios sensores remotos para o cartografiado de comunidades de algas. Estes sensores permitiron a diferenciación de grupos algais ata unha profundidade determinada dependendo da súa resolución espectral e espacial.[Resumen] Las zonas costeras representan la transición entre el ambiente acuático y el terrestre siendo una de los ecosistemas más dinámicos y productivos de la Tierra. Las comunidades de algas bentónicas juegan un papel fundamental en este tipo de ecosistemas. Dada su importancia ecológica y económica se hacen necesarios métodos que permitan una recolección de información tanto cuantitativa como cualitativa para su eficiente valoración, monitorización y gestión. Los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG) y la teledetección tienen un uso potencial en la generación de información geográfica. Sin embargo, durante el planteamiento de esta tesis, en Galicia se encontraba escasa información disponible para los usuarios y en la mayoría de los casos, esta información era de muy poco detalle o el proceso administrativo para su adquisición demasiado arduo. Por esta razón, esta tesis fue originalmente diseñada como una contribución a la generación de datos geográficos digitales de la zona litoral, donde la escasez es más significante. En este sentido se digitalizó una línea de costa de Galicia y se valoraron varios sensores remotos para el cartografiado de comunidades de algas. Estos sensores permitieron la diferenciación de grupos algales hasta una profundidad determinada dependiendo de su resolución espectral y espacial

Fluorescence and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy and Endoscopy for Tissue Analysis

Biophotonics techniques are showing great potential for practical tissue diagnosis, capable of localised optical spectroscopy as well as wide field imaging. Many of those are generally based on the same concept: the spectral information they enable to acquire encloses clues on the tissue biochemistry and biostructure and these clues carry diagnostic information. Biophotonics techniques present the added advantage to incorporate easily miniaturisable hardware allowing several modalities to be set up on the same systems and authorizing their use during minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures. The work presented in this thesis aims to build on these advantages to design biophotonics instruments for tissue diagnosis. Fluorescence and diffuse reflectance, the two modalities of interest in this work, were implemented in their single point spectroscopic and imaging declinations. Two “platforms”, a spectroscopic probe setup and an optical imaging laparoscope, were built; they included either one of the two aforementioned modalities or the two of them together. The spectroscopic probe system was assembled to detect lesions in the digestive tract. In its first version, the setup included a dual laser illumination system to carry out an ex vivo fluorescence study of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) in the mouse model. Outcomes of the study demonstrated that healthy livers could be distinguished from NAFLD livers with high classification accuracy. Then, the same fluorescence probe inserted in a force adaptive robotic endoscope was applied on a fluorescence phantom and a liver specimen to prove the feasibility of recording spectra at multiple points with controlled scanning pattern and probe/sample pressure (known to affect the spectra shape). This approach proposed therefore a convincing method to perform intraoperative fluorescence measurements. The fluorescence setup was subsequently modified into a combined fluorescence/diffuse reflectance spectroscopic probe and demonstrated as an efficient method to separate normal and diseased tissue samples from the human gastrointestinal tract. Following the single point spectroscopy work, imaging studies were conducted with a spectrally resolved laparoscope. The system, featuring a CCD/filter wheel unit clipped on a traditional laparoscope was validated on fluorescence phantoms and employed in two experiments. The first one, building on the spectroscopy study of the gastrointestinal tract, was originally aimed at locating tumour in the oesophagus but a lack of tissue availability prevented us from doing so. The system design and validation on fluorophores phantoms were nevertheless described. In the second one, the underarm of a pig was imaged after injection of a nerve contrast agent in order to test the feasibility of in vivo nerve delineation. Fluorescence was detected from the region of interest but no clear contrast between the nerve and the surrounding muscle tissue could be detected. Finally, the fluorescence imaging laparoscope was modified into a hyperspectral reflectance imaging laparoscope to perform tissue vasculature studies. It was first characterized and tested on haemoglobin phantoms with varying concentrations and oxygen saturations and then employed in vivo to follow the haemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation temporal evolutions of a porcine intestine subsequently to the pig’s termination. A decrease in oxygen saturation was observed. The last experiment consisted in monitoring the tissue re-oxygenation of a rabbit uterus transplant on the recipient animal, a successful tissue re-perfusion after the graft was highlighted