Reduction of volatile compounds and off-odor in irradiated ground pork using a charcoal packaging

Activated charcoal was applied to remove the volatile compounds (VOCs) and an off-odor of irradiated ground pork. The ground pork, packaged with the charcoal in a teabag, was irradiated at 5 and 10 kGy and the effects of the charcoal on the microbial and physicochemical qualities of the irradiated ground pork were evaluated. Results showed that the packaging using charcoal did not affect the microbiological and physicochemical quality but reduced the off-odor of irradiated ground pork. By using an electronic nose system and a solid-phase microextraction gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry analysis, the VOCs of the irradiated pork packaged with charcoal were significantly lower than those packaged without charcoal or reduced to below the limit of detection. The results of the present study imply that packaging using charcoal effectively eliminates the VOCs and an off-odor of irradiated meats. Irradiation has been known to be the best method to eliminate microbial contamination of food, including meat and meat products. However, irradiation induces a lipid oxidation in the presence of oxygen and characteristic off-odor volatile compounds in meat. These are considered as major defects in irradiated meat for practical application in industry. The aim of this study was to remove the volatile components and an off-odor of irradiated ground pork using activated charcoal. By using an electronic nose system and solid-phase microextraction gas charomatograph/mass spectrometry, the volatile components of the irradiated pork packaged with charcoal were significantly lower than those packaged without charcoal or reduced to below the limit of detection. By the confirmation of sensory study, it can be concluded that packaging using charcoal effectively eliminates the volatile components and off-odor of irradiated meat and this can be applied for related industry.