Trends in application of NIR and hyperspectral imaging for food authentication

Food fraud can cause damage to consumer health and affect their confidence, destroy brands and generate large economic losses in the industry. Food authenticity allows to identify if food composition, geographical origin, genetic variety and farming system corresponds to what has been declared on the label. Although there are currently standardized methods to identify certain adulterants, the complexity of the food, the complexity of the supply chain and the appearance of new adulterants require the continuous development of analytical techniques to detect food fraud. NIR and Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in tandem with chemometrics are non-destructive, non-invasive and accurate techniques for food authentication. This review focuses on NIR and HIS approaches to food authentication, including adulteration by substitution, geographical origin and farming system. In this context, the advances in NIR and HSI approaches reported since 2014 are discussed regarding their potential use in food authentication. Both techniques have shown to have efficiency, precision and selectivity to detect adulterants and identify geographic origin, genetic variety and farming system. Portability and remote access are shown as the next step for the industrialization of NIR and HSI devices.