Multiparametric analysis of cheese using single spectrum of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract The potential of using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for prediction of chemical quality/control parameters in a cheese matrix was investigated. Traditional methods are usually time-consuming and require complex pre-treatments, the use of toxic chemicals and laboratories and personnel equipped with these analytical skills. In this study, 11 different chemical analyses commonly performed on cheese samples were conducted using traditional methods on 82 full-fat, white pickled and ripened cheese samples. Additionally, these parameters of interest were correlated with multi-elemental spectra of LIBS using partial least squares regression. The results obtained for moisture, dry matter, salt, total ash, total protein, pH, fat, acidity, water soluble nitrogen, trichloroacetic acid soluble nitrogen, and phosphotungstic acid soluble nitrogen (R cal 2  = 0.964, 0.959, 0.970, 0.973, 0.952, 0.971, 0.733, 0.762, 0.714, 0.633, and 0.707, respectively) indicated that LIBS could be used as an alternative or complementary method in quality control of cheese.