Food and Beverage Analysis

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Ismail H. Boyaci

Meat fraud has emerged as a growing concern globally. The adulteration, substitution, or mislabeling of meat products has resulted in negative economic effects, such as unfair competition in the global marketplace, as well as ethical concerns, because consumers want to know what is in the meat they are consuming. Ismail H. Boyaci of Hacettepe University and his team have explored using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for protein-based analysis and the identification of meat species. Spectroscopy recently spoke to Boyaci about this work.

grape seed oil in a bottle with grapes surrounding it

Given that grape seed oil has shown beneficial effects for consumers, there is a interest in measuring oil quality and potential adulteration. This study demonstrates an effective near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method, using a series of machine learning approaches for wavelength variable selection, to rapidly discriminate grape seed oil adulteration.

Trace toxic and major nutrient elements were measured in a single measurement in a milk powder SRM, with no ionization buffers, using a synchronous dual view ICP-OES. The methodology was in accordance with Chinese method GB 5413.21 for raw milk and dairy products. Excellent recoveries were achieved for all elements determined in the SRM, demonstrating the accuracy of the method over a large dynamic range.

Five arsenic species, including the toxicologically relevant inorganic forms As(III) and As(V), were determined in 4 minutes, with excellent sensitivity, accuracy and precision using an Agilent LC fitted with a reversed phase column coupled to an ICP-MS. Any potential interferences on As such as ArCl+ were removed using a single-cell gas mode (helium mode), speeding up the analysis.

A validated ICP-MS method for the determination of Cr, Se, and Mo in infant formula and adult nutritional products was transferred to a next-generation system. This methodology is potentially suitable as a global reference method for the application, as all samples can be analyzed using a single-cell gas mode (helium mode) that provides effective removal of polyatomic interferences - significantly improving productivity.

A fast and sensitive method using hydride generation (HG) with ICP-MS has been developed for the separation and detection of toxic inorganic arsenic (iAs) in foodstuffs. The iAs measured values in 31 commercial rice products all fell below the current legislative maximum level of 150 µg/kg set by China. Comparing the results obtained by HG-ICP-MS and HPLC-ICP-MS showed comparable limits of detection were achieved.

Safe, low cost MP-AES analysis of total metal content of a plant-based reference material following microwave digestion is presented. Elements that are difficult to analyze by FAAS such as B and P were included, with all data acquired in a single run. Accurate determinations over a wide concentration range and with better detection limits and sample throughput compared to FAAS were obtained.