VOC profile analyses for the development of sensors for rapid on-line slaughterhouse detection of boar taint in entire male pigs

Boar taint is a strong unpleasant smell found in the meat of some uncastrated male pigs. This taint originates mainly from two
molecules stored in the fat, androstenone and skatole and to a lesser extent indole. These molecules are emitted when cooking
meat, releasing a urine- and fecal- like odour which leads to a strong consumer dissatisfaction. To ensure that tainted meat does
not reach the consumer, detection of tainted carcasses is performed in slaughterhouses. Fast, cheap and accurate sensor-based
methods are being developed to replace current human nose or colorimetric methods.
This study aims at determining which VOC could be aimed by sensors for boar taint detection during heating of the fat and
understanding whether some VOC found in slaughterhouse’s air could interfere with the correct functioning of the sensor.