Pukyong National University

Pukyong National University Research Team Develops AI-Based Technology for Assessing Mackerel Freshness

- A New Paradigm in Smart, Non-Destructive Freshness Analysis for Seafood

- Joint Research by Food Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Published in <Food Chemistry>

A research team at Pukyong National University (President Bae Sang-Hoon) has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology that can evaluate the freshness of mackerel in real time.

The team, led by Professor Kim Young-Mok from the Department of Food Engineering and Professor Ahn Ye-Chan from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, developed a smart, non-destructive analysis method that assesses mackerel freshness based solely on the color of its eyes, belly, and back. Their findings were published in <Food Chemistry>, a top-tier international journal in the food science field (Impact Factor 9.8, JCR top 3.6%).

The research team revealed that the cloudiness in the eyes and the color changes in the belly and back of mackerel during storage are closely related to the decline in freshness. Based on these findings, they developed an AI machine learning-based technology for evaluating the freshness of seafood using methods such as multiple linear regression (MLR). This is the result of a collaborative study that integrates the fields of food engineering and biomedical engineering.

Recently, Korea’s fisheries industry has been growing due to health- and environment-oriented consumption trends. However, its production base is weakening due to aging populations and declining participation from younger generations. In addition, the industry’s level of digitalization and smart technology adoption lags behind other sectors, posing a threat to its sustainability and contributing to the risk of regional decline.

In this context, where the development of smart technologies and the cultivation of professionals across the entire process―from production and processing to distribution and consumption―is urgently needed, this technology is gaining attention as a breakthrough that presents a new paradigm in seafood quality control. It is evaluated as a non-destructive and rapid alternative to traditional destructive and time-consuming freshness evaluation methods.

Professor Kim Young-mok stated, “This technology can be applied not only to mackerel but also to various types of seafood, and is expected to significantly contribute to the automation of distribution and quality management systems in the seafood industry.”

This research was supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries through the “Smart Technology Development Project for Fresh Distribution of Seafood” and the “Blue Tech Future Talent Development Project.”