Over
the next two years, research funded by Alaska Sea Grant will
help scientists determine how electronic noses (e-noses) might
be used to boost seafood quality in Alaska's processing plants.
According to lead researcher Alexandra
Oliveira of the Fishery Industrial Technology Center in Kodiak,
inspectors commonly use their noses to help evaluate seafood
quality. “The electronic nose is a technology that is
fairly new to the seafood industry,” she said. “We
are trying to bring this sophisticated tool directly to the
processing plant.” Used in such applications as sniffing
out landmines, detecting contraband drugs, and seeking chemical
and biological weapons, e-noses have chemical sensors that
take the place of nasal receptors and microprocessors that
interpret data. It is hoped that by providing vapor profiles
for fresh and not-so-fresh fish, e-noses could give a fast,
unbiased quality check that would improve Alaska's seafood
and increase the industry's ability to compete in world markets.
The Alaska study will use two commercially
available e-noses: Cyranose and zNose. Cyranose compares chemical
vapors based on 32 thin-film chemiresistors made of carbon-black
polymer. The zNose system is a hand-held surface acoustical
wave gas chromatograph. Oliveira and colleagues will assess
e-noses using a time series of canned and raw salmon and compare
the results to standard sensory, microbial, and chemical analyses.
E-noses also will be tested at processing plants and at a
canned salmon grading operation. Initially the devices will
be used to detect ethanol, a type of alcohol associated with
spoiled canned salmon. Later, the devices also will be used
to test for other chemicals associated with spoilage and to
evaluate the freshness of salmon being delivered by fishermen
to the processing plant.
“This technology will help processors
cut costs because it will help them improve their ability
to discriminate between a bad and a good product in real time,”
said Oliveira. “There's potential for these devices
to be used at several points in the processing line: at the
front end to make sure raw product is fresh, and at the end
of the processing line to ensure the quality of the finished
product.”
More information: http://www.uaf.edu/seagrant/NewsMedia/04ASJ/06.25.04enose.html
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