Abstract
Truffles are certainly the most expensive mushrooms; the price depends primarily on the species and secondly on the origin. Because of the price differences for the truffle species, food fraud is likely to occur, and the visual differentiation is difficult within the group of white and within the group of black truffles. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a reliable method for the authentication of five commercially relevant truffle species via Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy as an easy to handle approach combined with chemometrics. NIR-data from 75 freeze-dried fruiting bodies were recorded. Various spectra pre-processing techniques and classification methods were compared and validated using nested cross-validation. For the white truffle species, the most expensive Tuber magnatum could be differentiated with an accuracy of 100% from Tuber borchii. Regarding the black truffle species, the relatively expensive Tuber melanosporum could be distinguished from Tuber aestivum and the Chinese truffles with an accuracy of 99%. Since the most expensive Italian Tuber magnatum is highly prone to fraud, the origin was investigated and Italian T. magnatum truffles could be differentiated from non-Italian T. magnatum truffles by 83%. Our results demonstrate the potential of FT-NIR spectroscopy for the authentication of truffle species.
Highlights
Today’s globalization leads to an increase of known cases of food fraud [1]
The aim of this study was to develop a reliable, easy-to-handle and low-cost method using the Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) technology coupled to chemometric tools for the differentiation and authentication of five economically relevant truffle species
FT-NIR can be used for the differentiation of black and white truffles, and Italian and non-Italian truffles of the species T. magnatum
Summary
Today’s globalization leads to an increase of known cases of food fraud [1]. Consumer demand is moving towards food products of higher quality [2]. Many cases of food fraud pose a risk to health if toxic or allergenic substances get into the products through adulteration. Even in cases of food fraud, which in many cases do not lead to a health hazard, it must be ensured that the consumer is not economically harmed, i.e., that no unjustifiably high prices are charged for inferior goods. The increasing interest of the consumer in higher quality food [3], and the willingness to pay more money for it, provides the incentive for criminally motivated actors to stretch high-end products with cheaper ingredients. Since many falsifications cannot be detected immediately by laymen or even by trained personnel in companies, it is becoming increasingly important to have appropriate instrumental detection methods for possible food adulteration at hand [4]
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