Professor Jiyong Shi, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University published a research paper recently entitled “Quantitative characterization of the diffusion behavior of sucrose in marinated beef by HSI and FEA” in Meat Science (Q1, IF: 7.077). Professor Jiyong Shi is the corresponding author of the paper ; Master's student Yu Shi is the first author of the paper.

Marination is one of the essential processes in meat processing, which can effectively improve the water holding capacity of tissues, enhance the tenderness of muscles and improve the quality of products. The quality of marinated meat is closely related to the diffusion behavior of the marinade in the meat. The diffusion rate of the marinade in the meat determines the marinating time, while the accumulation and uniformity of the marinade in the meat at the end of the marination determines the quality of the marinated meat. Quantitative and intuitive characterization of the diffusion behavior of the marinade in the real 3D space of the meat is essential to control the quality of the marinated meat.

In this study, the diffusion behavior of sucrose inside the marinated beef was quantitatively characterized from 2D plane and 3D space using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and finite element analysis (FEA), respectively. Visualization of sucrose content based on HSI showed that the distribution state of sucrose on marinated beef was not uniform. Subsequently, the diffusion behavior of sucrose in the 3D beef geometric model was simulated using FEA. Results revealed that the diffusion rate of sucrose on muscle tissues is significantly higher than other tissues, and the difference in diffusion behavior is the main reason for the inhomogeneous distribution of sucrose. The quantitative characterization of marinade diffusion behavior makes it possible to predict the marinade's transient distribution state, thereby determining the optimal marinade conditions for the meat. Therefore, the method proposed has practical significance for evaluating and regulating the quality of marinated meat products.

Scheme1. Schematic illustration of quantitative characterization of the diffusion behavior of sucrose in marinated beef by HSI and FEA

Fig.1 Quantitative characterization results of marinade diffusion behavior

Professor Jiyong Shi has long been engaged in the research on Non-destructive testing and quantitative control processing of food and agricultural products. He was awarded the “Distinguished Younng Scholars of Jiangsu Province” in 2022, the “Jiangsu Specially Appointed Proressor” in 2020.