Muramatsu Dairoku, Sasaki Yukino
Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Systems Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu 182-8585, Tokyo, Japan.
Foods. 2025 Jun 6;14(12):2016. doi: 10.3390/foods14122016.
The aging of dry meat enhances its flavor and tenderness; however, continuous internal quality monitoring throughout the aging process is challenging. We developed and validated a novel electromagnetic response measurement system for meat aging that enables continuous bioimpedance monitoring under stable, optimal temperature/humidity conditions. The system comprises a temperature-controlled dry aging fridge and a newly designed puncture-type semi-rigid coaxial probe, allowing for minimally invasive internal measurements over a broad frequency range. The probe achieved stable measurements across 10 kHz to 10 MHz, and its small diameter (1.25 mm) enabled almost non-destructive internal sensing. Beef and pork samples were monitored over 14 days via multi-channel bioimpedance measurements. After an initial stabilization period, bioimpedance steadily decreased throughout aging. This decline reflected progressive increases in tissue conductivity as cell membranes broke down and intracellular fluids leaked out. High-frequency measurements (e.g., around 10 MHz) were more sensitive to environmental disturbances. Periodic defrost cycles in the chamber caused temporary impedance dips at these frequencies, highlighting the influence of short-term temperature/humidity fluctuations. The system enables long-term continuous measurement without removing samples from the fridge, thus maintaining aging conditions during monitoring. Overall, the system enables the stable, long-term, and multi-channel electromagnetic monitoring of meat quality under optimal aging conditions-a capability not achieved in previous studies. This new method offers a minimally invasive, frequency-resolved approach for assessing meat quality evolution during aging. This advance demonstrates a new approach for tracking meat quality changes during dry aging.
干肉的陈化会提升其风味和嫩度；然而，在整个陈化过程中持续进行内部品质监测具有挑战性。我们开发并验证了一种用于肉类陈化的新型电磁响应测量系统，该系统能够在稳定、最佳的温度/湿度条件下进行连续的生物阻抗监测。该系统包括一个温度可控的干陈化冰箱和一个新设计的穿刺型半刚性同轴探头，可在较宽的频率范围内进行微创内部测量。该探头在10 kHz至10 MHz范围内实现了稳定测量，其小直径（1.25毫米）几乎能够实现无损内部传感。通过多通道生物阻抗测量对牛肉和猪肉样本进行了14天的监测。在初始稳定期之后，生物阻抗在整个陈化过程中稳步下降。这种下降反映了随着细胞膜破裂和细胞内液泄漏，组织电导率逐渐增加。高频测量（例如，在10 MHz左右）对环境干扰更为敏感。箱内的定期除霜循环在这些频率下导致了暂时的阻抗下降，突出了短期温度/湿度波动的影响。该系统能够在不将样本从冰箱中取出的情况下进行长期连续测量，从而在监测过程中保持陈化条件。总体而言，该系统能够在最佳陈化条件下对肉质进行稳定、长期和多通道的电磁监测——这是先前研究中未实现的能力。这种新方法为评估陈化过程中肉质的演变提供了一种微创、频率分辨的方法。这一进展展示了一种跟踪干陈化过程中肉质变化的新方法。
