Analysis of milk adulteration by means of a potentiometric electronic tongue

Abstract

Milk adulteration presents substantial challenges in the food industry, prompting the need for efficient detection methods. This study introduces a potentiometric electronic tongue for rapid and accurate detection of milk adulteration. Using polymeric membranes with various integrated additives, the electronic tongue distinguished between different milk types and detected common adulterants. Experimental results demonstrated its effectiveness in discriminating raw, pasteurized, and medicated cow milk, as well as goat milk. Moreover, it successfully identified adulterants, such as water and cow milk, in goat milk samples. Chemometric analyses, including principal component analysis and partial least squares regression, correlated sensor responses with traditional milk parameters such as fat, protein, and lactose content with an R² of up to 0.97 on the validation step. Strong correlations validated the electronic tongue's potential for rapid milk quality assessment. This innovative approach offers a cost-effective, reliable solution for detecting milk adulteration in contrast to current techniques that require numerous time-consuming experiments.