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Food Authentication: Techniques, Approaches and Application

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Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Foods, "Food Authentication: Techniques, Approaches and Application," seeks to compile cutting-edge research on ensuring food integrity. We welcome original studies and reviews focusing on the application of advanced analytical techniques, including spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, e-nose, machine vision, and hyperspectral imaging, etc. Contributions should explore their use in combating fraud, verifying origin, species, and processing methods. Studies on integrating these tools with data fusion and machine learning for robust authentication models are particularly encouraged. The issue aims to bridge the gap between technological innovation and practical application, providing a comprehensive resource for enhancing traceability, regulatory compliance, and consumer trust in the global food supply chain.

Dr. Hui Jiang
Guest Editor

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14 pages, 1089 KB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid and Accurate Quantification Detection of BHT in Edible Oils Using Raman Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometric Models

by Congli Mei, Shuai Lu, Xiaolin Zhou, Fanzhen Meng and Hui Jiang

Foods 2026, 15(4), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15040730 - 15 Feb 2026

Viewed by 559

Abstract

The chemical composition of vegetable cooking oils is a key parameter in determining the quality of their products. Antioxidants are widely used in these products to extend their shelf life. In this study, the concentration of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in edible oil was quantitatively determined by Raman spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Initially, Raman spectra of edible oil samples with varying concentrations of BHT were obtained. Subsequently, three variable selection methods were applied to the pre-processed spectra. Optimised characteristic wavelengths were then used to establish a Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network and partial least squares (PLS) models. The impact of variable selection on feature wavelengths was evaluated for both models in both independent and combined cases. The results demonstrate that the features identified through multiple variable selection methods correlate highly with the BHT content and can be utilised to develop high-precision detection models. The findings indicate that the PLS model, optimised using competitive adaptive reweighting (CARS), achieved the best prediction performance, with an average

R_{P}^{2}

of 0.9687, and RMSEP of 3.1211. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using Raman spectroscopy combined with chemometrics for the rapid screening of BHT in edible oils. While the current study focuses on a broad concentration range to validate the method’s linearity, further optimisation is required for trace-level detection to meet strict regulatory limits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Authentication: Techniques, Approaches and Application)

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14 pages, 2466 KB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Influence of Bottle Type on the Acquisition of SORS Spectra of Extra Virgin and Virgin Olive Oils

by Guillermo Jiménez-Hernández, Fidel Ortega-Gavilán, M. Gracia Bagur-González, Jaime García-Mena, Sandra Montoro-Alonso and Antonio González-Casado

Foods 2026, 15(3), 521; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15030521 - 2 Feb 2026

Viewed by 634

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the material (plastic or glass) and color (green or colorless) of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and virgin olive oil (VOO) bottles on the acquisition of SORS spectra using portable equipment. Sixteen bottles of EVOO and three bottles of VOO were analyzed, including different volumes. A range of similarity indices was calculated between vial-reference (offline measurements) and bottles (online measurements), including R², COS θ, NEAR, and a new index called WSI (Weighted Similarity Index). WSI is calculated from the pondered linear combination of the previous three, and a threshold of >0.95 is established as high similarity. The results showed that plastic bottles, regardless of color and volume, and colorless glass bottles had WSI values > 0.95. In contrast, green glass bottles demonstrated a lower degree of similarity (WSI < 0.95), which impacted the reliability of their spectral fingerprints. A hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed by locating EVOO bottles according to their material in two clusters. A study of storage under optimal, non-optimal, and commercial conditions showed that both EVOO and VOO maintain highly similar spectral profiles for 10–18 days (WSI > 0.965), even in bottles purchased in supermarkets. These results demonstrate that the SORS technique is suitable for the direct analysis of olive oils in plastic and colorless glass containers, without the need to open the bottles. The SORS technique is a fast, reliable, non-invasive, and non-destructive tool for quality control of olive oil. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Authentication: Techniques, Approaches and Application)

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