NIR-spectrometric analysis of food. Methodical development and achievable performance values

The application of near infrared spectrometry (NIRS) to estimate the distribution of macro nutrients in food provides a rapid method for predicting food quality. Three methods have been developed for quantitative determination of the constituents of foods containing high levels of moisture (meat products, “consumable meals” and potatoes) using reflectance spectrometry in the near infrared region within 1100–2500 nm. Experience concerning these NIRS method developments is reported in order to predict e.g. the fat, crude protein and carbohydrate content. Generally, the performance values achieved so far indicate that the methods may be used as a replacement for conventional expensive and time-consuming wet chemical analysis.