Food

Raman spectroscopy has just begun to wet the palate of food processors. Although Raman is not as entrenched as infrared analysis in the food industry, it is now beginning to carve out niche applications for food authentication, traceability and quality control. The stride forward is augmented due to the availability of smaller, less expensive, and more efficient Raman analyzers. Raman has the advantage over infrared because it is non-invasive and the sampling protocols are simplified because it can analyze through simple glass containers, or the sample may be simply analyzed in its raw form without dilution. Further, many food formulations contain significant quantities of water, and Raman is ideal because water is a weak scatterer, and thus, doesn't interfere with the spectrum. Several food substances contain natural pigments and synthetic coloring agents that fluoresce. This is circumvented with higher wavelength excitation such as a 785 nm NIR laser diode lasers, which are used in the Advantage NIR and Inspector Raman. Examples of niche applications using Raman spectroscopy are edible oils, corn sweeteners, sugar cane/beet sugar, dairy products and various process control applications. Call us today so that we can discuss how you can exploit Raman technology for your application.

Raman of edible oils: Raman spectroscopy is information rich and the molecular signature of each material allows multi-constituent analysis in a single measurement. For example, Raman spectroscopy has been used for authentication and has been applied to the analysis of trans fats/oils, unsaturation, oxidation, free fatty acids and moisture. The Inspector Raman is handheld and it allows operators to test edible oils in a variety of environments. Edible oil samples are analyzed with the Inspector Raman using disposable 8mm vials that cost less than 18 cent each. This test is rapid (ca. less than 10 seconds) and simple to use for those not trained in the art.

Trans Fatty Acid Analysis- Recently, trans fatty acids have become one of the most sought after targets in food analysis. On July 9, 2003, the FDA published in the Federal Register (68 FR 41434 at 41468-41470) a regulation requiring food manufacturers to list trans fatty acids, or Trans Fat, on the Nutrition Facts panel of foods and some dietary supplements. Food manufacturers have until January 1, 2006 to begin reporting the trans content on their labels. Edible oils are used in a variety of formulations and are a source of trans fat because of the hydrogenation process used in edible oil manufacturing. The Inspector Raman is used to quantify the amount of trans fat in several types of edible oils.

A trans fatty acid starter calibration is provided with the Inspector Raman that is comprised of refined and unrefined soy, palm, palm kernel, corn, canola, cottonseed, lard and sunflower. The calibrations are continuously updated from process samples obtained from certified laboratories.

Iodine Value (Unsaturation) - Current chemical and chromatographic methods for the determination of IV of fats and oils are labor intensive, require the use of solvents and reagents, and are unsuitable for rapid analysis because of the complexity of sample handling. The Inspector Raman was used to measure the IV of refined and unrefined soy, palm, palm kernel, corn, canola, cottonseed, lard and sunflower.