ABSTRACT
Spectroscopy has had an ever-increasing role in the determination of the composition and adulteration of foods and beverages. It is important for determining food safety, accompanying food and beverage production, and for the control of food, beverages, and packaging in general. Fluorescence spectroscopy is a very valuable, highly sensitive technique for determining the quantity of certain kinds of substances that possess the capability to fluoresce. An advantage of fluorescence spectroscopy over the ultraviolet–visible absorption technique is the fact that two frequencies are available for identification of a compound rather than only one. Midrange infrared (IR) spectroscopy was the most extensively employed because of its usefulness for the identification of the vibrations of functional groups in pure compounds. Near-IR spectroscopy has been used to determine protein content and soluble and insoluble dietary fiber in cereal foods and to predict gross energy and usable energy. Ultrasound spectroscopy has also been used for the control of the gelation behavior of different carrageenan systems.
