Meat provenance - advances and opportunities in rapid spectral techniques for authentication of dietary background and geographical origin of meat

Background
Meat provenance, especially regarding dietary background and geographical origin, has become a top consumer preference and a major regulatory concern. Such pivotal provenance factors have a substantial effect on meat's nutritional composition, marketability value, and influence purchase decisions. Additionally, there is increasing consumer interest in the green and ethical image of meat products sourced from animals reared on pasture (grass-fed) rather than under confinement feeding (grain-fed). Given the extrinsic and intrinsic value, verification of provenance is crucial to ensure that meat products are genuinely labeled. In this sense, the capability of various rapid spectral techniques has been examined, motivated by the need for direct authentication methods for meat and its products.

Scope and approach
Herein, we outline recent advances in rapid spectroscopic/spectrometry techniques with potential to distinguish between meat from different production systems and geographical origins, highlighting their basic principles, advantages, and limitations. Furthermore, technological evolutions in meat authentication in conjunction with multivariate data analysis and artificial intelligence modeling are presented. Finally, future trends, research questions, and likely challenges encountered are also critically discussed.

Key findings and conclusions
The application of rapid spectral techniques for discriminating the dietary history and origin of meat is emerging. In particular, vibrational spectroscopy and ambient ionization mass spectrometry are capable of authenticating meat provenance on the basis of unique compositional features and chemical biomarkers within the meat metabolome/volatilome, enabling a distinctive feed/origin signature with an accuracy up to 100%. Results suggest on/inline implementation of rapid spectral authentication systems is eminently possible with several advantages including instant meat authentication within minutes to milliseconds. The findings of this study represent the first step toward transformation of meat authentication systems and would support potential industrial applications in the meat industry.