Raman spectroscopy a promising technique for quality assessment of meat and fish: A review

Raman spectroscopy data have been compared to different traditional methodologies such as protein solubility, apparent viscosity, water holding capacity, instrumental texture methods, dimethylamine content, peroxide values, and fatty acid composition commonly used to determine quality in fish and meat muscle treated under different conditions of handling, processing and storage through the changes of proteins, water and lipids of muscle food. It has been shown that Raman spectroscopy data are related to the results obtained with these traditional quality methods and could be used to evaluate muscle food quality. In addition, Raman spectroscopy provides structural information about the changes of proteins, water and lipids of muscle food that occur during the deterioration. Raman spectroscopy can also be used for determining muscle food identification. Besides, this spectroscopy technique has several advantages compared to traditional methods since it is a direct and non-invasive technique which requires small portions of sample. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.