Handheld near-infrared spectroscopy: state-of-the-art instrumentation and applications in material identification, food authentication, and environmental investigations

This present review article considers the rapid development of miniaturized handheld near-infrared spectrometers over the last decade and provides an overview of current instrumental developments and exemplary applications in the fields of material and food control as well as environmentally relevant investigations. Care is taken, however, not to fall into the exaggerated and sometimes unrealistic narrative of some direct-to-consumer companies, which has raised unrealistic expectations with full-bodied promises but has harmed the very valuable technology of NIR spectroscopy, rather than promoting its further development. Special attention will also be paid to possible applications that will allow a clientele that is not necessarily scientifically trained to solve quality control and authentication problems with this technology in everyday life.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Grape seeds: chromatographic profile of fatty acids and phenolic compounds and qualitative analysis by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy

The primary product of the oenological sector is wine. Nonetheless, the grape processing produces large amounts of by-products and wastes, e.g., the grape seeds. In the context of a sustainable production, there is a strong push towards reutilizing these by-products and waste for making useful derivatives since they are rich of bioactive substances with high additional value. As it is true for the wine itself, bringing these by-products derivatives to the market calls for quality measures and analytical tools to assess quality itself. One of the main objectives is to collect analytical data regarding bioactive compounds using potentially green techniques. In the present work, the profile of fatty acids and the main phenolic compounds were investigated by conventional methods. The qualitative analysis of the main functional groups was carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Moreover, the successful use of FTIR technique in combination with chemometric data analysis is shown to be a suitable analytical tool for discriminating the grape seeds. Grape seeds of different origin have different content of bioactive substances, making this technique useful when planning to recover a certain substance with specific potential application in health area as food supplement or nutraceutical. For example, Cesanese d’Affile seeds were found to have a rather high fat content with a significant fraction of unsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, the seeds of Nero d’Avola exhibit the highest amount of phenolic compounds.This research received funding from Italcol SpA, Consulente Enologica Srl and the support of the Project NATUR-BAKERY-INNOV” Innovative production of a bakery line, for well-being and sport, based on functional natural extracts”—POR FESR 2014–2020—CUP 7429.31052017.113000254. Authors thank the support of the project: Nutraceutica come supporto nutrizionale nel paziente oncologico; CUP: B83D18000140007info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Introduction: food relocalisation and knowledge dynamics for sustainability in rural areas

The chapter presents the literature on local food and local knowledge and introduces the case studies analysed in the volum

Electronic tongue technology applied to the analysis of grapes and wines

El desarrollo de nuevos métodos de análisis para caracterizar los alimentos es de vital importancia para mejorar los actuales sistemas de control de calidad de los productos alimenticios. Dentro de este campo, el concepto de lengua electrónica (ETs o e-tongues) ha crecido rápidamente en los últimos años debido a su gran potencial. Estos dispositivos se basan en sensores electroquímicos combinados con análisis de datos multivariantes. De acuerdo con la IUPAC (Unión Internacional de Química Pura y Aplicada), una lengua electrónica es un sistema multisensor, que consiste en un número de sensores de baja selectividad y utiliza procedimientos matemáticos avanzados para el procesamiento de señales basados en el reconocimiento de patrones (PARC) y/o análisis multivariante [redes neuronales artificiales (RNA), análisis de componentes principales (PCA), etc.]. Por lo tanto, las ETs son sistemas holísticos que proporcionan información global y cualitativa acerca de la muestra en lugar de datos cuantitativos acerca de compuestos específicos. Sin embargo, si la matriz de datos obtenida por estos sistemas se analiza con herramientas de procesamiento quimiométrico adecuadas, se podría extraer información descriptiva o predictiva de parámetros específicos. Existe un término más reciente en el campo de las lenguas electrónicas, ampliamente denominado lengua bioelectrónica (bioET), que incluye el uso de uno o varios biosensores implementados en las ETs. Durante esta investigación se han aplicado ETs y bioETs para estudiar las uvas tintas y los vinos con el fin de predecir mejor el momento óptimo de la vendimia de uvas, así como los parámetros de calidad de interés en los vinos.Departamento de Química Física y Química InorgánicaDoctorado en Físic

Grapes and Wine

Grape and Wine is a collective book composed of 18 chapters that address different issues related to the technological and biotechnological management of vineyards and winemaking. It focuses on recent advances, hot topics and recurrent problems in the wine industry and aims to be helpful for the wine sector. Topics covered include pest control, pesticide management, the use of innovative technologies and biotechnologies such as non-thermal processes, gene editing and use of non-Saccharomyces, the management of instabilities such as protein haze and off-flavors such as light struck or TCAs, the use of big data technologies, and many other key concepts that make this book a powerful reference in grape and wine production. The chapters have been written by experts from universities and research centers of 9 countries, thus representing knowledge, research and know-how of many regions worldwide

Wine Traceability

Wine traceability is a central theme in the current world market where consumers are increasingly demanding the quality and origin of food and drink. The wine production chain and wine composition are generally controlled by different laws (International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), European Union (EU), and national governments) and need specific documentation. Nevertheless, wine production is subject to fraud. Consequently, the improvement of the methods applied to verify the origin and quality of wines is very important to protect wine consumers and producers. In this book, eight different papers—six research papers and two reviews—address the topic from different points of view

Use of fortified pied de cuve as an innovative method to start spontaneous alcoholic fermentation for red winemaking

Background and Aims: Some wineries, in order to promote the growth of yeasts able to ferment grape musts, traditionally produce wines using the ‘pied de cuve’ method. The aim of the present work was to study the performance of fortified pied de cuve (FPdC) prepared by addition of wine. Method and Results: Two FPdCs were prepared with the addition of wine at 1.5 and 3% (v/v) of ethanol to the musts and allowed to spontaneously ferment. The FPdCs were then added to fresh bulk musts in order to accelerate the spontaneous alcoholic fermentation (AF). Interestingly, several Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated during the pied de cuve preparation were detected at the highest concentration throughout AF. The chemical composition of the wines conformed to commercial regulations. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were mainly represented by diethyl succinate and ethyl lactate, as well as by hexanol and isoamyl alcohol. Principal component analysis of the chemical parameters, VOCs and sensory data showed that the use of experimental pied de cuve influenced positively the composition of the final wines. Conclusion: The FPdC had no negative impact on the microbiological and chemical composition of wines, but it affected the diversity of the species S. cerevisiae present during AF and the sensory profile of the final wine. Significance of the Study: This study provided evidence that FPdC accelerates spontaneous AF and influences the sensory profile of red wines

Developmental validation of the ParaDNA(®) Intelligence System-A novel approach to DNA profiling.

DNA profiling through the analysis of STRs remains one of the most widely used tools in human identification across the world. Current laboratory STR analysis is slow, costly and requires expert users and interpretation which can lead to instances of delayed investigations or non-testing of evidence on budget grounds. The ParaDNA(®) Intelligence System has been designed to provide a simple, fast and robust way to profile DNA samples in a lab or field-deployable manner. The system analyses 5-STRs plus amelogenin to deliver a DNA profile that enables users to gain rapid investigative leads and intelligent prioritisation of samples in human identity testing applications. Utilising an innovative sample collector, minimal training is required to enable both DNA analysts and nonspecialist personnel to analyse biological samples directly, without prior processing, in approximately 75min. The test uses direct PCR with fluorescent HyBeacon(®) detection of STR allele lengths to provide a DNA profile. The developmental validation study described here followed the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guidelines and tested the sensitivity, reproducibility, accuracy, inhibitor tolerance, and performance of the ParaDNA Intelligence System on a range of mock evidence items. The data collected demonstrate that the ParaDNA Intelligence System displays useful DNA profiles when sampling a variety of evidence items including blood, saliva, semen and touch DNA items indicating the potential to benefit a number of applications in fields such as forensic, military and disaster victim identification (DVI)