Non-Destructive Measurement of Volatile Organic Compounds in Modified Atmosphere Packaged Poultry Using SPME-SIFT-MS in Tandem with Headspace TD-GC-MS

A methodology was developed to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a non-destructive way inside modified atmosphere packaged (MAP) poultry (chicken fillets) samples stored at 4 degrees C. To achieve this, a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was inserted in the headspace of the package and was later desorbed within a heated injector coupled with a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometer (SIFT-MS). As this technique is not stand-alone, it was calibrated on the same matrix using online SIFT-MS measurements and headspace thermal desorption gas chromatography (HS-TD-GC-MS) with internal standard calibration. A total of eight compounds were successfully monitored within the same samples over a storage period of 15 days. Ethanol and dimethyl sulfide presented the highest overall increase with large variations between the samples, while a clear increase was observed for 2-propanol, 2-butanone, and 3-methylbutanal by the end of shelf life. Our method provides a fast (analysis time < 5 min) non-destructive alternative for VOC measurements within modified atmosphere packaged products at refrigerated conditions. This approach can be useful to determine potential biomarkers at real storage conditions of packaged food prior to the moment of consumption.