Edible oil analysis by FTIR spectroscopy

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy offers a new way of approaching edible oil analysis and is well on its way to being developed into a utilitarian quality control tool. This paper provides a brief overview of FTIR spectroscopy, the key elements associated with developing a suitable fats and oils analytical system (sample handling, calibration development, validation, calibration stability and transfer, programming and automation), some methods that have been implemented, and the basic elements of a typical fats and oils FTIR analytical package. It is foreseen that a number of standard AOCS methods will be replaced by this technology, allowing a variety of chemical and physical analyses to be carried out on neat fats and oils in under 2 minutes per sample.