Food Review spoke to Professor Marena Manley from Stellenbosch University Department of Food Science, an expert in the field of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, to get the basic low-down on this ground breaking science.
• NIR spectroscopy (a spectroscopic method that uses the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum from about 800 nm to 2500 nm) can penetrate much farther into a sample than mid-infrared radiation and can be used to probe bulk material with very little sample preparation.
• New applications for NIR spectroscopy are showing that this testing technique is a powerful scientific research tool which can be used in a variety of applications. It can be used in the food, agriculture, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries where instrumentation is used in process online.
• Such is the growth in NIR Spectroscopy that the 2011 world conference will be taking place in Cape Town from 13 to 20 May, under the auspices of the International Council for Near Infrared Spectroscopy. 'We are proud that the conference will take place in SA for the first time. Promoting an environmentally-friendly technique such as NIR Spectroscopy will greatly advantage the African continent and we look forward to publicising its use,' says Manley.
'It’s a quick testing method and the instrument can be run by anyone who can press a button – although the person using the system needs to know how to present a sample. It also has the benefit of being an environmentally-friendly method that reduces the use of chemicals,' says Manley. 'There are no limitations to this method of testing - it delivers quality control, is a fast, non-destructive technique and an easy way to check a final product or raw materials,' says Pieter Norval, sales engineer at Bruker.
