ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the applications of mid-infrared (MIR) and near-infrared (NIR) coupled to these different chemometric techniques in the determination of the authenticity of various food items. It also discusses the versatility of the different techniques as shown by the excellent classification rates obtained during the determination of traceability and adulteration. NIR and MIR techniques coupled to multivariate data analysis have been applied to determine the composition of cereals. NIR and MIR spectroscopic techniques have been successfully used to detect adulteration in various dairy products, such as milk, butter, milk powders, and infant formula. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic techniques were used to discriminate Emmental cheeses according to their geographical origins. MIR spectroscopy has also been used to classify fruit juices based on ingredients and geographical origins using hierarchical cluster analysis and soft independent modeling class analogy. An important application of IR spectroscopy is in the determination of traceability and adulteration of edible oils, such as pumpkin oil, and vegetable oils.
