Rapid and simultaneous analysis of multiple wine quality indicators through near-infrared spectroscopy with twice optimization for wavelength model

Convergent technologies to tackle challenges of modern food authentication

The authentication process involves all the supply chain stakeholders, and it is also adopted to verify food quality and safety. Food authentication tools are an essential part of traceability systems as they provide information on the credibility of origin, species/variety identity, geographical provenance, production entity. Moreover, these systems are useful to evaluate the effect of transformation processes, conservation strategies and the reliability of packaging and distribution flows on food quality and safety. In this manuscript, we identified the innovative characteristics of food authentication systems to respond to market challenges, such as the simplification, the high sensitivity, and the non-destructive ability during authentication procedures. We also discussed the potential of the current identification systems based on molecular markers (chemical, biochemical, genetic) and the effectiveness of new technologies with reference to the miniaturized systems offered by nanotechnologies, and computer vision systems linked to artificial intelligence processes. This overview emphasizes the importance of convergent technologies in food authentication, to support molecular markers with the technological innovation offered by emerging technologies derived from biotechnologies and informatics. The potential of these strategies was evaluated on real examples of high-value food products. Technological innovation can therefore strengthen the system of molecular markers to meet the current market needs; however, food production processes are in profound evolution. The food 3D-printing and the introduction of new raw materials open new challenges for food authentication and this will require both an update of the current regulatory framework, as well as the development and adoption of new analytical systems.

Non-Invasive Digital Technologies to Assess Wine Quality Traits and Provenance through the Bottle

Due to increased fraud rates through counterfeiting and adulteration of wines, it is important to develop novel non-invasive techniques to assess wine quality and provenance. Assessment of quality traits and provenance of wines is predominantly undertaken with complex chemical analysis and sensory evaluation, which tend to be costly and time-consuming. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a rapid and non-invasive method to assess wine vintages and quality traits using digital technologies. Samples from thirteen vintages from Dookie, Victoria, Australia (2000–2021) of Shiraz were analysed using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) through unopened bottles to assess the wine chemical fingerprinting. Three highly accurate machine learning (ML) models were developed using the NIR absorbance values as inputs to predict (i) wine vintage (Model 1; 97.2%), (ii) intensity of sensory descriptors (Model 2; R = 0.95), and (iii) peak area of volatile aromatic compounds (Model 3; R = 0.88). The proposed method will allow the assessment of provenance and quality traits of wines without the need to open the wine bottle, which may also be used to detect wine fraud and provenance. Furthermore, low-cost NIR devices are available in the market with required spectral range and sensitivity, which can be affordable for winemakers and retailers and can be used with the machine learning models proposed here.

Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined With Bayes Classifier Based on Wavelength Model Optimization Applied to Wine Multibrand Identification

The identification of high-quality wine brands can avoid adulteration and fraud and protect the rights and interests of producers and consumers. Since the main components of wine are roughly the same, the characteristic components that can distinguish wine brands are usually trace amounts and not unique. The conventional quantitative detection method for brand identification is complicated and difficult. The naive Bayes (NB) classifier is an algorithm based on probability distribution, which is simple and particularly suitable for multiclass discriminant analysis. However, the absorbance probability between spectral wavelengths is not necessarily strongly independent, which limits the application of Bayes method in spectral pattern recognition. This research proposed a Bayes classifier algorithm based on wavelength optimization. First, a large-scale wavelength screening for equidistant combination (EC) was performed, and then wavelength step-by-step phase-out (WSP) was carried out to reduce the correlation between wavelengths and improve the accuracy of Bayes discrimination. The proposed EC-WSP-Bayes method was applied to the 5-category discriminant analysis of wine brand identification based on visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy. Among them, four types of wine brands were collected from regular sales channels as identification brands. The fifth type of samples was composed of 21 other commercial brand wines and home-brewed wines from various sources, as the interference brand. The optimal EC-WSP-Bayes model was selected, the corresponding wavelength combination was 404, 600, 992, 2,070, 2,266, and 2,462 nm located in the visible light, shortwave NIR, and combination frequency regions. In modeling and independent validation, the total recognition accuracy rate (RAR Total ) reached 98.1 and 97.6%, respectively. The technology is quick and easy, which is of great significance to regulate the alcohol market. The proposed model of less-wavelength and high-efficiency (N = 6) can provide a valuable reference for small special instruments. The proposed integrated chemometric method can reduce the correlation between wavelengths, improve the recognition accuracy, and improve the applicability of the Bayesian method.