This comprehensive review article (open access) lists over 60 published chemometric applications for authenticating edible oils and fats using FT-IR. FT-IR spectra are driven by the oils’ triglyceride composition.
The authors categorise the applications into four sections
- Adulteration with used oil (“gutter oil”)
- Adulteration of vegetable fat with animal fats or vice-versa (e.g. lard added to palm oil, or margarine added to butter)
- Substitution of one vegetable oil with another
- Geographic origin (mainly of premium olive oils).
The authors conclude that FT-IR is a valuable technique in the armoury, and often has advantages over alternative methods (e.g. DSC, GC-MS, HPLC) in terms of speed, simplicity and robustness.
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