The results obtained in this study demonstrated that FTIR spectral
data could become an interesting tool to monitor minced pork spoilage
through the measurement of biochemical changes occurring in
meat substrate. The collected spectra could be considered as biochemical
fingerprints containing valuable information for the discrimination
of meat samples in quality classes corresponding to
different spoilage levels, and could also be used to correlate the population
of the different microbial groups directly from the sample surface.
However, it must be stressed that the developed PLS models can
only be as good as the experimental data provided, and errors for example
in the sensory or microbiological analysis could result in a
poorly functioning model. For this reason, further research is required
for the method to be eligible and able to be updated with the novel
packaging and preservation techniques that are raising and sequentially
change the time course and character of spoilage