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Spectroscopic techniques are non-destructive, rapid, and often cost-effective tools for detecting cheese adulteration. Cheese is one of the foods most frequently reported as adulterated or misrepresented, particularly when including misrepresentation of PGO or PDI production methods or origin.

This review (open access) references 104 studies and describes the range of vibrational, nuclear magnetic, and mass spectrometric techniques which have been applied for cheese authentication, including Near-Infrared (NIR), Mid-Infrared (MIR), Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR), Raman, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy MS-based methods . Emerging non-invasive sensor-based technologies such as electronic nose (E-nose) systems have also been explored in dairy product monitoring and are covered in the review.

The authors consider that each technique offers distinct advantages based on its operational principle and application context. NIR spectroscopy, for example, has demonstrated utility in detecting water addition, milk source substitution, and fat adulteration in a variety of cheese matrices with minimal sample preparation FTIR and ATR-FTIR are valuable for functional group detection and surface compositional analysis, offering rapid screening capabilities . Raman and its variants, such as Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), provide molecular vibrational fingerprints useful for identifying foreign substances and analyzing samples through packaging.  ¹H NMR spectroscopy has gained prominence due to its high-resolution metabolomic profiling capabilities and its ability to differentiate PDO cheeses from non-authentic counterparts based on lipid and aqueous phase biomarkers .

Advanced mass spectrometry-based techniques, including LC-MS/MS and MALDI-TOF-MS, have also been effectively utilized for the detection of protein-based adulterants and species-specific peptides in complex cheese matrices, enabling quantification at trace levels.  Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) and other isotope-based techniques have proven crucial in verifying geographical and botanical origin by assessing stable isotope compositions such as δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S

The authors aim to provide stakeholders—including researchers, quality control laboratories, and regulatory agencies—with an informed perspective on the strengths and limitations of each technique, thereby supporting the development of more robust authentication frameworks within the dairy industry.

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