Multivariate analysis of food fraud: A review of NIR based instruments in tandem with chemometrics

The increasing concerns toward the quality and health of food products have necessitated accurate and precise analytical methods in order to guarantee the quality of food. It is required that time consuming and expensive traditional arrangements for food control be replaced by rapid methods to ensure product quality. This will increase the performance of food manufacturing industries and reduce the risk of error. Near-infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging are economically preferred technologies in the food industry owing to their rapid results, simplicity, high throughput, low costs, and the non-destructive measurements of a wide range of food matrices. Growth of chemometrics methods combined with advances in near-infrared-spectroscopy-based instrumentation have increased the value of this technology. The present review focused on the application of near-infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging for the rapid detection of adulteration in various food matrices, including edible oils, dairy products, infant formula, honey, spices, and different types of fruit juice.