Intelligent Characterization Method And Device For Characteristic Flavor And Multi-Sensory Quality Of Preserved Eggs

Preserved egg is a type of traditional egg product in China.Due to its unique flavor and quality,this kind of product is highly cherished in China and Southeast Asia.A preserved egg form their unique flavor under the influence of lye.Throughout the process of producing preserved eggs,skilled technicians perform sensory evaluations on the smell,taste,and appearance of the eggs to determine their maturity and guide production.Professional sensory panels evaluate the flavor and quality of preserved eggs prior to sale in order to grade the products and make appropriate consumption recommendations.Artificial sensory evaluation,on the other hand,has drawbacks such as high subjectivity,easy fatigue,poor repeatability,among others.As a result,this study used colorimetric sensor array techniques and quantum chemistry theory to develop visual sensor arrays for detecting the distinct olfactory and gustatory sensory qualities of preserved eggs.A method for the intelligent comprehensive flavor representation of preserved eggs’characteristic smell,taste,and appearance was established using machine vision technology,colorimetric sensor arrays,stoichiometry,and a data fusion strategy.Finally,a low-cost,portable,and integrated multi-intelligence sensory detection device was developed for the purpose of determining the flavor and quality of preserved eggs.The main contents of this study are as follows:(1)Study on establishing the artificial sensory quality evaluation system and multi-sensory interaction of preserved eggsIn order to establish a comprehensive and accurate evaluation system for evaluating the flavor quality of preserved eggs,the criterion was developed using massive evaluation data from e-commerce platforms and panelist evaluation results.This criterion is used to investigate the interaction of perceptions across multiple sensory modes.The results showed a strong interaction between olfactory and gustation senses in preserved eggs.The aroma of preserved eggs significantly increased the intensity of the"aftertaste"perception of preserved eggs and slightly increased the intensity of the"umami taste"perception.The results will provide some ideas for the intelligent characterization of the comprehensive flavor quality of preserved eggs in the following studies.(2)Study on intelligent characterization method of characteristic smell of preserved eggsAccording to the preliminary study,preserved eggs have two distinct odor characteristics:"ammoniacal"and"fishy".The detection result of the volatile components variation trend during preservation showed that"ammoniacal aroma"increased during the curing process of preserved eggs.And the trimethylamine and ammonia content exceeds the threshold of human recognition.So the olfactory visual array was designed for ammonia and trimethylamine,and the response mechanism of the olfactory visual array was explained using quantum chemistry theory.Additionally,the sensitivity and response rate of the olfactory visual array were improved by using the porous characteristics of the metal-organic framework.The response value of the sensitized olfactory visual array was used to determine that the correlation coefficients for the gradient concentration of ammonia and trimethylamine quantitative prediction models were 0.9253 and 0.9247,respectively.The results demonstrated the ability of the olfactory visualization method to realize the characterization of preserved eggs’characteristic aroma"ammoniacal"and"fishy".(3)Study on intelligent characterization method of preserved egg characteristic tasteThe p H value and amino acid and free amino acid content of preserved eggs were measured in order to determine their gustatory characteristics.The results showed that the p H value of preserved eggs increased in the first 30 days and then decreased slightly.The content of free umami amino acids increased gradually as the curing time was increased.The results were consistent with the"umami"and"alkali"taste characteristics of preserved eggs.A dual-mode visual gustatory sensor array based on visible light and fluorescent color changes was developed for aspartic acid,glutamic acid,and OH~-,and the response mechanism of the sensory array’s color-sensitive units was described.The developed visual gustatory sensor array was used to quantitatively predict the concentrations of aspartic acid,glutamic acid(umami taste solution),and sodium carbonate solution(alkali taste solution).The correlation coefficients of the prediction models were 0.9893,0.9964,and 0.9731.The results demonstrated the ability of the gustatory visualization method to realize the characterization of preserved eggs’characteristic taste.(4)Research and development of multi-sensory quality intelligent characterization device for preserved eggsAlthough previous studies demonstrated that the preserved eggs’single characteristic traits such as aroma and taste qualities could be intelligently represented respectively,consumers usually justify the preserved eggs’flavor quality in a more comprehensive manner.Therefore,this study developed an intelligent method to characterize the comprehensive flavor quality of preserved eggs and developed a detection device capable of rapidly and comprehensively perceiving the multi-sensory qualities of preserved eggs.A micro camera was employed in the olfactory intelligent sensing module of the device to obtain dynamic reaction data of the preserved egg headspace from the self-made olfactory visible sensor array.The data obtained reflect both the response strength and the response speed of the sensor array to the preserved egg headspace.Through the use of a micro camera,the gustatory intelligent sensing module collects data on the response of the self-made dual-mode gustatory sensor array to the preserved egg extract solution using a micro camera.The visual intelligent sensing module obtains the visual information of the surface and profile of preserved egg samples using a miniature camera.Compared with the existing electronic sensory equipment,the device has the advantages below:low cost,small size,high precision,integration,and strong pertinence.(5)Effectiveness verification of multi-sensory quality indicator intelligent detection device for preserved eggsTwo extensive sampling tests were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the developed multi-sensory quality indicator intelligent detection device for preserved eggs characterization.First,the maturity level of preserved eggs was assessed using the device’s olfactory intelligent sensing module.The second involved the utilization of the self-made device to determine the smell,taste,and visual sensory characteristic values of preserved egg samples to realize the intelligent characterization of single and comprehensive flavor quality of preserved egg samples,respectively.The results showed that the accuracy of the preserved eggs’maturity level prediction was 94.44%.The accuracy of preserved eggs’single olfactory and gustatory sensory intensity from high to low was 0.8882,0.8273,0.7771,and 0.7341 for alkali taste,ammonia smell,fishy taste,and umami taste,respectively.For visual sensory intensity prediction,the models had a predictive performance/ability from powerful to weak for the intensity of albumen’s brownish-red color,number of pine-needle-like patterns,size of runny yolk,number of yolk’s color layers,and the intensity of yolk’s dark green color and the corresponding correlation coefficients for prediction sets were 0.9344,0.9437,0.9155,0.7552 and 0.6814,respectively.And the prediction model for the comprehensive flavor quality of the preserved eggs achieved a correlation coefficient of 0.8527 for the corresponding prediction set.In conclusion,the intelligent characterization method and detection device for preserved egg flavor quality established using colorimetric sensor arrays and machine vision technology are capable of predicting the characteristic intensity of preserved egg flavor quality.This study provides theoretical justification for industrialized flavor quality testing of preserved eggs,as well as new ideas and references for intelligently characterizing flavor quality in other foods.The developed system is expected to have a positive impact on the development of artificial intelligence multi-sensory technology in China and the upgrading of intelligent food flavor detection equipment.