Detection of Melamine Adulteration in Milk Powder by Using Optical Spectroscopy Technologies in the Last Decade—a Review

Melamine adulteration is a fraudulent practice to increase the protein content of food in some areas of the world. In 2008, many babies in China suffered from serious illness and death because of melamine-tainted powdered infant formula. The issue prompted researchers to develop methods on detecting melamine in milk powder. Optical spectroscopy technologies have been proven to be effective in identifying and quantifying food contaminants. To provide useful information for future researches, the widely used optical spectroscopy technologies, such as near-infrared, middle-infrared, Raman, fluorescence, terahertz, hyperspectral imaging technology, etc., were introduced briefly. Then the applications of these optical spectroscopy technologies in determining melamine-adulterated milk powder in the last decade were reviewed. Meanwhile, the potential advantages and limitations of these technologies were put forward, and some suggestions for future researches in detecting melamine-adulterated milk powder were given.