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This study (purchase required) evaluated two portable NIR spectrometers (900–1700 nm and 1450–2450 nm) and a benchtop FTIR device (4000–550 cm⁻¹) for authenticating edible insect flours. The reference data were constructed from flours produced in-house from insects or larvae purchased online: mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae (23 samples), buffalo worm (Alphitobius diaperinus) larvae (28 samples) and crickets (Acheta domesticus) (28 samples).  Data-Driven Soft Independent Modelling Class Analogy (DD-SIMCA) and soft Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (sPLS-DA), were used on the spectral data.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that spectral data of pure insect flours were clustered in the scores plot. DD-SIMCA achieved 100 % sensitivity (SNS) in the test set using FTIR for all insects. NIR Spectrometer in the range of 1450–2450 nm reached 100 % SNS and 100 % specificity (SPS) for buffalo worm and mealworm flour. sPLS-DA showed class sensitivity (CSNS) between 75 % and 100 %, for all three devices tested, with spectrometer in the range of 1450–2450 nm reaching class efficiency rate (CEFF) and total efficiency (TEFF) values ranging from 93 % to 100 %. Also, PLSR achieved RMSEP values as low as 0.44 %, demonstrating its robustness as a tool.

The authors conclude that IR spectroscopy with soft modelling is a non-destructive solution for authenticating insect flours, filling the current gap in rapid and reliable analytical tools for this emerging industry.

Photo by Olga Kudriavtseva on Unsplash

This paper (open access) reports the construction of a classification model to detect the adulteration of white pepper with mung bean flour utilizing Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometric techniques.

The authors prepared their own reference samples in-house by grinding locally sourced white pepper (Malaysian origin) with bean flour ranging from 3 – 50%.

They report that adulterants can be detected even at the lowest concentration prepared using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method and chemometrics.. The second derivative FTIR spectrum in the range of 3712-650 cm⁻¹ was identified as the optimal calibration model.  The PLS Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) method also successfully classified pure white pepper samples from those adulterated with various concentrations of mung bean flour.