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Title: Recent advances in chemical imaging technology for the detection of contaminants for food safety and security

Author
item PRIORE, RYAN - Chemimage Corporation
item OLKHOVYK, OKSANA - Chemimage Corporation
item DRAUCH, AMY - Chemimage Corporation
item TREADO, PATRICK - Chemimage Corporation
item Kim, Moon
item Chao, Kuanglin - Kevin Chao

Submitted to: Proceedings of SPIE
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/7/2009
Publication Date: 6/1/2009
Citation: Priore, R.J., Olkhovyk, O., Drauch, A., Treado, P., Kim, M.S., Chao, K. 2009. Recent advances in chemical imaging technology for the detection of contaminants for food safety and security. In: Proceedings of SPIE. 7315:731507-1-8.

Interpretive Summary: Industrial processes like the food and beverage industry require a rapid, reliable and economical measurement solution for screening potential adulterants in the raw materials as well as final product. The need for routine, non-destructive chemical screening of agricultural products is increasing due to the health hazards to animals and humans associated with intentional and unintentional contamination of foods. Melamine, an industrial additive used to increase flame retardation in the resin industry, has recently been used to increase the apparent protein content of animal feed, of infant formula, as well as powdered and liquid milk in the dairy industry. Such contaminants, even at regulated levels, pose serious health risks. Chemical imaging technology provides the ability to evaluate large volumes of agricultural products before reaching the consumer. In this paper, recent advances in chemical imaging technology that exploit Raman, fluorescence and near-infrared (NIR) are presented for the rapid detection of melamine in agricultural products. This research and rapid detection methods are useful to food scientists, regulatory government agencies (i.e., FDA), and food processing industries.

Technical Abstract: The need for routine, non-destructive chemical screening of agricultural products is increasing due to the health hazards to animals and humans associated with intentional and unintentional contamination of foods. Melamine, an industrial additive used to increase flame retardation in the resin industry, has recently been used to increase the apparent protein content of animal feed, of infant formula, as well as powdered and liquid milk in the dairy industry. Such contaminants, even at regulated levels, pose serious health risks. Chemical imaging technology provides the ability to evaluate large volumes of agricultural products before reaching the consumer. In this presentation, recent advances in chemical imaging technology that exploit Raman, fluorescence and near-infrared (NIR) are presented for the detection of contaminants in agricultural products.