Sensors and Food Quality

Abstract

Production processes require quality control. The quality of food going to the consumer must always be assured. Traditionally this was performed by taking a sample and sending it to a remote laboratory. While this is successful for most samples, this was not always the case. Having remote laboratories means that there could be a significant lag-time between sampling and results. Some unstable samples may have changed or the source material could have been already used/processed by the time they are analyzed. Sensor-based systems, especially those incorporated within flow injection analyzers, can overcome this problem. As the systems can be small and inexpensive relative to other automated analyzers, they can easily be fitted onsite. With the sensors fitted within the production process, a nearly instant reading can be achieved. The advantages and disadvantages of physical, chemical, and biosensors and their applicability to food analysis are discussed. Particular attention is focused on the improvements made to the underlying technology used in biosensor construction.