Nondestructive prediction of pork freshness parameters using multispectral scattering images

Optical technology is an important and immerging technology for non-destructive and rapid detection of pork freshness. This paper studied on the possibility of using multispectral imaging technique and scattering characteristics to predict the freshness parameters of pork meat. The pork freshness parameters selected for prediction included total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), color parameters (L *, a *, b *), and pH value. Multispectral scattering images were obtained from pork sample surface by a multispectral imaging system developed by ourselves; they were acquired at the selected narrow wavebands whose center wavelengths were 517,550, 560, 580, 600, 760, 810 and 910nm. In order to extract scattering characteristics from multispectral images at multiple wavelengths, a Lorentzian distribution (LD) function with four parameters (a: scattering asymptotic value; b: scattering peak; c: scattering width; d: scattering slope) was used to fit the scattering curves at the selected wavelengths. The results show that the multispectral imaging technique combined with scattering characteristics is promising for predicting the freshness parameters of pork meat.