Evaluation of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone as an irradiation dose indicator in fresh irradiated ground beef

Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are radiolytic products formed when fatty acids are irradiated. These cyclobutanones are unique irradiation byproducts and therefore may serve as indicators of irradiation exposure. As only limited information exists about 2-ACB formation in retail meat products, reliable methods that can quantify 2-ACBs and thus estimate irradiation dose in commercial meat products are desired. The cyclobutanone studied in this experiment was 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB), which is formed from palmitic acid. The formation of 2-DCB was evaluated in fresh irradiated ground beef patties at two fat levels. Patties containing 15% and 25% fat were irradiated by electron beam at 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.5 kGy. Commercially available 1-lb irradiated ground beef chubs with different fat levels were analyzed in order to estimate dose absorbed by these samples. The 2-DCB was extracted using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and was detected in all the irradiated samples. The concentration of 2-DCB increased linearly with dose with R2 = 0.9646 for 25% fat samples and R2 = 0.9444 for 15% fat samples. Further, there was no significant difference in 2-DCB concentrations between the two fat levels. The estimated doses applied to the commercial samples ranged between 1.38 and 1.55 kGy, values consistent with doses normally used in the industry (1.0-2.0 kGy). Our results show that 2-DCB can be used to monitor fresh irradiated beef and approximate the absorbed dose.