ABSTRACT
Food labeling legislation has increased the need for rapid, more efficient, and environmentally benign methods of determining the constituents of foods, particularly dietary fiber. For many agricultural products nearinfrared technology has provided valuable alternatives to conventional, chemical methods of analysis. Near-infrared spectroscopy appears to provide an attractive alternative to current laboratory methods of dietary fiber determination. In this chapter, the current status of the use of nearinfrared spectroscopy for the analysis of fiber in foods is reviewed. Likewise, the instrumentation and chemometrics involved in near-infrared analysis and the current applications of near-infrared spectroscopy in the food industry are critiqued. Near-infrared analysis is very rapid, requires little or no sample preparation, does not create chemical waste, and thus, has the potential to be a significant force in dietary fiber analysis in the future.
