Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technique that can provide fast multi-elemental analysis , and hence food authenticity “fingerprints”, without requiring any sample preparation. It is an under-utilized technology in the food sector because of its high setup cost and lack of LIBS expertise in this sector.
This review (subscription required) gives an outline of LIBS fundamentals and instrumentation alongside published scope and capabilities of LIBS for detecting adulteration in various food samples. The authors consider that LIBS is a pre-existing tool within the authenticity testing armoury which could be better utilised in the food sector..
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