Unidad de Cultura Científica y de la Innovación

Researchers from the School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering (ETSIAM) at the University of Córdoba have developed several applications to detect in real time quality and authenticity of food products in sectors such as Iberian pork and fruit and vegetables.

To do this, experts used portable spectral sensors based on NIRS technology, which is based on the relationship of spectral measurements with physical and chemical parameters in food and allows instant, nondestructive analysis of different product samples, such as loin, ham, plums, asparagus or orange.

In the work 'Prediction of fatty acid content in pig adipose tissue by near infrared spectroscopy: At-line versus in-situ analysis', published this same year 2013 in the journal Meat Science, experts show the potential and feasibility of this tool for meat classification and authentication, based on a sensor called MEMS-NIRS, which allows analysis of Iberian pig at the speed of dressing and cutting of carcases, ie at the slaughterhouse.

'The results obtained show that this technology allows determination both of carcass fatty acid content and pig diet and are key to ensuring their quality to consumers”, says Ana Garrido Varo, researcher at the University of Cordoba to Fundación Descubre.

In this sense, MEMS-NIRS instrument used by the research team adds a number of advantages over the quality control traditional system in Iberian pig industry. 'This methodology allows operators to analyze each carcass individually, eliminating the need to take samples and send them to the lab. This in-situ process means a time optimization which is very important factor for subsequent decisions related to quality control of each piece of ham or beef', said Garrido.

An innovative tool

Thus, the main innovation of this study is the fusion of NIRS technology with other emerging techniques such as the so-called MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System)-NIRS or hyperspectral image, which uses low cost, smaller size and faster than traditional sensors. Further, the combination NIRS-image not only allows to obtain spectral information using near-infrared radiation, but also spatial content, i.e., a visual representation of product characteristics similar to that provided by a satellite image . 'Not only does this combination provide general information about moisture, proteins, sugars or fatty acids, but it also shows other parameters such as the highly valued  level of intramuscular fat or internal fruit damage', she said.

These results are part of the excellence project MEMS and NIRS-image Sensors for non-destructive and in situ analysis of animal and plant products, funded by the Ministry of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employement of the  Andalusian Government.