Food NMR Optimized for Industrial Use-an NMR Platform Concept Check Access

Presently, state of the art food quality, safety and authenticity control is based on targeted strategies, where predefined analysis targets are identified and quantified. Detected deviations of the results and related ratios from established reference ranges may then inform on quality issues. While very successful and widely accepted in food analysis, this approach fails if a food matrix is altered in a way that concentrations of compounds which are covered by the food analysis portfolio remain unaffected. However more recently high resolution ¹H-NMR has provided a potential solution to this. It offers several key advantages for example NMR in food needs little sample preparation; it is an inherently quantitative method with a large dynamic; NMR data are extremely detailed; NMR can be performed under extremely cost efficient conditions; output is extremely reproducible and fully quantitative; and it is possible to detect atypical deviations of any kind and so typically hundreds or even thousands of ¹H-NMR-variables are compared against an existing reference database. In this article the authors describe further the strengths and applications of this analytical methodology. They also present a strategy for a layered platform-concept for NMR-based food quality and authenticity analysis.