Molecular Spectroscopy Compendium - Ensure food quality, production, and safety

Importance of the Topic

Molecular spectroscopy, including FTIR, UV-Vis, and fluorescence, plays a crucial role in ensuring food quality, safety and authenticity by providing rapid, non-destructive analysis of molecular composition.
Global food supply chains demand precise monitoring from raw ingredients to final products to prevent adulteration, ensure nutritional standards and comply with regulatory requirements.

Objectives and Overview

This compendium presents a broad array of current and emerging applications of molecular spectroscopy instruments for food analysis across the production chain.
It covers instrument platforms (bench, portable, handheld), sampling interfaces and real-world application notes demonstrating target and non-target analysis in various food matrices.

Methodology and Instrumentation

• FTIR Spectroscopy: bench-top (Cary 660), compact (Cary 630), portable (5500, 4500) and handheld systems (4100, 4300) using ATR and DialPath transmission sampling.
• UV-Vis and Fluorescence: Cary 60, Cary Eclipse with xenon flash for high sensitivity and versatile emission/excitation modes.
• On-board intuitive software: MicroLab and OpenLab for automated spectral matching, chemometric modeling and pass/fail or quantitative determinations.

Main Results and Discussion

• Rapid authentication and quantification of edible bird nests, differentiating genuine samples from adulterants such as sugars, salts, carbonates, MSG and dyes.
• On-site screening of tomato quality traits (Brix, pH, acidity, sugars, citric acid) using both bench and handheld FTIR with strong chemometric correlation (R > 0.9).
• Non-destructive QA/QC of dairy powders, flours, sugars and teas by FTIR-ATR, successfully identifying raw materials and detecting contaminants in seconds.
• Detection of common milk adulterants (water, whey, urea, peroxide, synthetic milk constituents) with portable FTIR analyzers (spectral fingerprint region), enabling dilution screening and quantitative analysis.
• Portable FTIR for on-site pesticide authentication, identifying illegal or counterfeit formulations (organochlorine insecticides) using ATR sampling and spectral libraries.
• Measurement of acrylamide in potato chips via simple sample preparation and portable FTIR, with partial least squares regression models matching LC-MS/MS data (SEP ≈ 75 μg/kg).
• UV-Vis/Fluorescence applications: antioxidant capacity (ORAC) in human serum measured by Cary Eclipse with multicell Peltier-controlled assays.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Minimal or no sample preparation, reducing analysis time to seconds or a few minutes.
• Non-destructive and versatile sampling for solids, semi-solids and liquids.
• Portable and handheld systems enable real time, in-field decision making.
• Automated methods and software reduce operator training and ensure consistency.

Future Trends and Opportunities

• Enhanced chemometric models and integration with machine learning for improved non-target screening.
• Expanded spectral libraries covering emerging contaminants and novel food ingredients.
• Development of multi-modal portable analyzers combining FTIR, Raman, NIR and fluorescence.
• Integration with digital traceability systems for real-time food safety monitoring.

Conclusion

Molecular spectroscopy compendia, supported by compact and portable FTIR and UV-Vis/fluorescence analyzers, provide a robust, rapid and cost-effective solution for comprehensive food quality, safety and authenticity testing across the supply chain.

References

• Molecular Spectroscopy Compendium, Agilent Technologies.
• Set J. et al. FTIR authentication of edible bird nests, 2012.
• Sayajon GF et al. Handheld FTIR screening of tomato traits, 2012.
• Rodriguez-Saona LE et al. ATR-FTIR QA/QC of food powders and adulterants, 2011–2013.
• Rein A. et al. At-site FTIR detection of pesticide adulteration, 2013.
• Ayvaz H., Rodriguez-Saona LE. Portable spectrometers for acrylamide, 2013.
• Fyfe D. Determination of antioxidant capacity by fluorescence, 2014.