Handheld Devices for Food Authentication and Their Applications: A Review

Abstract

This review summarises miniaturised technologies, commercially available devices, and device applications for food authentication or measurement of features that could potentially be used for authentication. We first focus on the handheld technologies and their generic characteristics: (1) technology types available, (2) their design and mode of operation, and (3) data handling and output systems. Subsequently, applications are reviewed according to commodity type for products of animal and plant origin. The 150 applications of commercial, handheld devices involve a large variety of technologies, such as various types of spectroscopy, imaging, and sensor arrays. The majority of applications, ~60%, aim at food products of plant origin. The technologies are not specifically aimed at certain commodities or product features, and no single technology can be applied for authentication of all commodities. Nevertheless, many useful applications have been developed for many food commodities. However, the use of these applications in practice is still in its infancy. This is largely because for each single application, new spectral databases need to be built and maintained. Therefore, apart from developing applications, a focus on sharing and re-use of data and calibration transfers is pivotal to remove this bottleneck and to increase the implementation of these technologies in practice.

Infrared Spectroscopy for Detecting Adulterants in Food and Traditional Indonesian Herbal Medicine

“…Grasping better insight into the responsible spectral bands that are strongly correlated with the observed variables would be beneficial in developing a customized portable measurement system [69]. Such a system might be helpful in terms of technology to keep people safe from adulterated food and medicinal products.…”

Miniaturized Raman Instruments for SERS-Based Point-of-Care Testing on Respiratory Viruses

“…In field applications, these portable Raman devices can analyze samples through transparent containers such as plastic and glass. Handheld Raman spectrometers are efficient in material identification [ 47 , 48 , 49 ], authentication of finished products for quality control [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ], and anti-counterfeit prevention [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ].…”

Miniaturized NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics: A smart combination to solve food authentication challenges

“…Over the last decades, nearinfrared (NIR) instrumentation has advanced dramatically, resulting in their wide application in food industry. The introduction of miniaturized (portable and handheld) NIR instruments with very small size, commercial engines that a variety of companies can build into products, and low-cost devices selling directly to the public have made it possible for both expert and non-expert users to do fast, easy, reliable and on-site food analysis (Müller-Maatsch and van Ruth, 2021;Beć et al, 2022). In spite of their many advantages, miniaturized NIR instruments have several limitations that make direct interpretation of the spectrum challenging.…”

“…Another noteworthy fact is that SIMCA has been only used in a few studies, although it is a high-potential method in the context of food authenticity. Various studies have investigated the capability of miniaturized NIR in the field of food authentication(Ellis et al, 2015;Müller-Maatsch and van Ruth, 2021;Beć et al, 2022). However, the application of miniaturized NIR is increasing considerably.…”