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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #406418
Research Project: Development of Innovative Technologies and Strategies to Mitigate Biological, Chemical, Physical, and Environmental Threats to Food Safety

Location: Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens

Title: Rapid food authentication using a portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy system

Author
item WU, X - Purdue University
item SHIN, S - Purdue University
item GONDHALEKAR, C - Purdue University
item PATSEKIN, V - Purdue University
item BAE, E - Purdue University
item ROBINSON, J - Purdue University
item RAJWA, B - Purdue University

Submitted to: Foods
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/5/2023
Publication Date: 1/14/2023
Citation: Wu, X., Shin, S., Gondhalekar, C., Patsekin, V., Bae, E., Robinson, J.P., Rajwa, B. 2023. Rapid food authentication using a portable laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy system. Foods. 12(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12020402.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12020402

Interpretive Summary: The misrepresentation of one food as another (food fraud) and food adulteration are both challenges facing sellers and consumers in the food industry. Rapid methods to authenticate foods are limited. This research focuses on using specialized chemical analysis (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS) for examining agricultural goods, specifically in the context of food authentication. LIBS is a technique that utilizes a laser beam to breakdown and analyze the composition of samples. In our study, we used a commercial handheld LIBS device to assess its performance in verifying the authenticity of regional agricultural products. We examined a range of food items, including European Alpine-style cheeses, coffee, spices, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla extracts. The results of our study indicate that portable LIBS devices provide a robust, accurate, and user-friendly platform for verifying agricultural products. These devices are also suitable for on-site applications in the field, as they require minimal or no sample preparation. By utilizing LIBS technology, we can effectively enhance food authentication efforts and combat food fraud.

Technical Abstract: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic-emission spectroscopy technique that employs a focused laser beam to produce microplasma. Although LIBS was designed for applications in the field of materials science, it has lately been proposed as a method for the compositional analysis of agricultural goods. Commercial handheld LIBS equipment was deployed to illustrate the performance of this promising optical technology in the context of food authentication, as the growing incidence of food fraud necessitates the development of novel portable methods for detection. The focus was on regional agricultural commodities such as European Alpine-style cheeses, coffee, spices, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla extracts. Liquid examples, including seven balsamic vinegar products and six representatives of vanilla extract, were measured on a nitrocellulose membrane. No sample preparation was required for solid foods, which consisted of seven brands of coffee beans, sixteen varieties of Alpine-style cheeses, and eight different spices. The pre-processed and standardized LIBS spectra were used to train and test the elastic net-regularized multinomial classifier. The performance of the portable and benchtop LIBS systems was compared and described. The results indicate that field-deployable, portable LIBS devices provide a robust, accurate, and simple-to-use platform for agricultural product verification that requires minimal sample preparation, if any.