Flavor is one of the most important sensory characteristics of meat. The development of taste and aroma can be attributed to thousands of flavor molecules and precursors that are present in meat tissues. As a result, the identification of these flavor compounds and an improved understanding of their roles are necessary for improving the sensory quality and customer appeal of meat products. In the current study, we compared the metabolic profiles of meat specimens from the Lubei white goats (LBB), Boer goats (BE) and Jining grey goats (JNQ) by untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our metabolomic data revealed that the three types of goat meat showed significantly different profiles of fatty acids, aldehydes, ketones, lactones, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics and drug residues, which could underpin the nuances of their flavors. Taken together, our results provided insights into the molecular basis for sensory variations between different goat meat products.

Natural anthocyanin indicator films with an excellent pH response enable the visual assessment of meat freshness. In this investigation, chitosan was initially employed as a colorimetric enhancer, leading to the development of a pH-sensitive indicator film that was enhanced in colorimetry. The characteristics of this indicator film were thoroughly analyzed, and the mechanism responsible for the increased sensitivity of anthocyanin within the chitosan matrix, as indicated by the color response, was elucidated. The recrystallization of chitosan impeded the hydration of AH⁺ as the pH increased from 6.0 to 8.0, leading to distinct color changes. Moreover, the application of this indicator film was extended to the monitoring of mutton meat freshness. It facilitated the differentiation of mutton meat into three distinct stages, namely, fresh, sub-fresh, and spoiled, based on alterations in color. Additionally, a robust positive correlation was established between the color difference value of the indicator film and the total volatile basic nitrogen and bacterial count of the mutton meat, enabling quantitative analysis. The present study, therefore, demonstrated a novel function of chitosan, i.e., the enhancement of the color of anthocyanin, which could be useful in designing and fabricating indicator films with a high color response.

The grading of beef appearance quality is crucial for standardizing market circulation and promoting the upgrading of the beef cattle industry. China’s current beef quality grading system, which relies primarily on human sensory-based visual assessment with marbling and meat color as core parameters, suffers from strong subjectivity, low efficiency, and large errors. This study proposes a rapid grading method for beef rib eye muscle using smartphone imaging combined with ImageJ software. Standardized images were acquired, and ImageJ was employed for grayscale conversion, threshold segmentation, and morphological processing to extract length, width, area, and marbling proportion. The R, G, B color channels were separated to calculate the R/(R + G + B) color ratio. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the ImageJ results were highly consistent with manual measurements (correlation coefficients > 0.97), indicating good reliability. A five-level grading standard (A1–A5) was established, characterized by low cost, simple operation, and objective results. It provides an economical technical solution for beef quality grading and facilitates the intelligent development of the industry. It should be noted that this experimental grading model has only been validated under the specific experimental conditions of this study, and further verification is required for broader application.