AI taught to evaluate the freshness of beef

Although beef is one of the most popular foods around the world, it can be dangerous.

Improper storage and consumptionstale tenderloin leads to serious health problems. Unfortunately, the available methods for testing beef freshness have many disadvantages. For example, chemical analysis or microbial population assessment takes too much time and requires professional skills. On the other hand, non-destructive methods based on near-infrared spectroscopy require expensive and complex equipment. Could artificial intelligence be the key to a more cost-effective way to evaluate beef freshness?

In South Korea, a group of scientists has developed a newa strategy that combines deep learning with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), a relatively inexpensive optical technique. Unlike other types of spectroscopy, DRS does not require complex calibration. Instead, it can be used to quantify a portion of the molecular composition of a sample using only an affordable and easily tunable spectrometer. Details of the new method are published Food Chemistry.

To determine the freshness of beef samples,the scientists used DRS measurements to estimate the proportion of different forms of myoglobin in meat. Myoglobin and its derivatives are proteins that are mainly responsible for the color of meat and its changes during decomposition. However, manually converting DRS measurements to myoglobin concentration for final determination of sample freshness is not a very accurate strategy, and this is where deep learning comes into play.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are widelyAI algorithms used that learn from a pre-classified dataset - a training dataset and find hidden patterns in the data to classify new inputs. To educate CNN, the researchers collected data on 78 beef samples in the spoilage process by regularly measuring their pH (acidity) along with DRS profiles. They combined the findings with estimates of myoglobin. As a result, the deep learning algorithm correctly classifies the freshness of beef samples in seconds in about 92% of cases.

Read more

The first accurate map of the world was created. What's wrong with everyone else?

The most stormy place on Earth: why Drake Passage is the most dangerous route to Antarctica

New uranium compound breaks record for anomalous conductivity

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy isa type of absorption spectroscopy. This is sometimes called remission spectroscopy. Remission is the reflection or backscattering of light by a material, while transmission is the passage of light through a material.