Portable Spectroscopy for Food Safety and Adulteration Screening

In this review we discuss various applications of portable vibrational spectroscopy in food adulteration analyses and authentication confirmation. These applications generally involve the adulteration of a food product with materials which may be of lesser monetary value and may also be detrimental to human health. Portable spectroscopic testing for food authentication opens potential for rapid and on-site analyses of food products at various stages in the food production chain. These portable techniques also require the development of data analysis methods for each individual application, which will also be discussed in this review. Specific food safety applications for portable spectroscopy to be discussed include adulteration detection and evaluation of authenticity. Adulteration detection examples focus on the commonly adulterated milk powder and spice commodities, as well as the potential for component substitution (e.g., artificial sweeteners). For authentication, examples from marine oil dietary supplements, olive oils, honeys, coffees, and grains are presented along with examples of speciation (e.g. fish) and growth conditions (bell peppers).