Non-invasive determination of the CO contents in tuna fish using polarization resolved resonance Raman scattering and/or Rayleigh spectroscopy

Carbon monoxide (CO) is used for Modified Atmosphere Packaging of fresh fish and meat. CO is added because it binds to the Myoglobin of the muscle tissue with high affinity resulting in a bright, cherry-red colored carboxy-Myoglobin complex. The product will because of the red color appear to be more fresh and attractive for longer periods of time and thus mask the aging of the product. In the present project it is investigated whether the small wavenumber shift in the visible absorption spectrum of carboxy-Myoglobin relative to the visible absorption of Oxy-Myoglobin in combination with polarization resolved resonance Raman spectra of these molecules, can form the basis of the development of a fast and non-invasive method for the screening of the presence of CO in tuna fish and meat.