Rapid Authentication of 100% Italian Durum Wheat Pasta by FT-NIR Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometric Tools.

Annalisa De Girolamo,Michelangelo Pascale,Antonio Francesco Logrieco,Vincenzo Lippolis,Erminia Mancini,Salvatore Cervellieri

doi:10.3390/foods9111551

Abstract

Italy is the country with the largest durum wheat pasta production and consumption. The mandatory labelling for pasta indicating the country of origin of wheat has made consumers more aware about the consumed pasta products and is influencing their choice towards 100% Italian wheat pasta. This aspect highlights the need to promote the use of domestic wheat as well as to develop rapid methodologies for the authentication of pasta. A rapid, inexpensive, and easy-to-use method based on infrared spectroscopy was developed and validated for authenticating pasta made with 100% Italian durum wheat. The study was conducted on pasta marketed in Italy and made with durum wheat cultivated in Italy (n = 176 samples) and on pasta made with mixtures of wheat cultivated in Italy and/or abroad (n = 185 samples). Pasta samples were analyzed by Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy coupled with supervised classification models. The good performance results of the validation set (sensitivity of 95%, specificity and accuracy of 94%) obtained using principal component-linear discriminant analysis (PC-LDA) clearly demonstrated the high prediction capability of this method and its suitability for authenticating 100% Italian durum wheat pasta. This output is of great interest for both producers of Italian pasta pointing toward authentication purposes of their products and consumer associations aimed to preserve and promote the typicity of Italian products.

Highlights

Pasta is a key element of the Mediterranean diet providing complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, mineral salts, and dietary fiber to consumers
According to the information reported on the labels, 176 samples were manufactured using only durum wheat cultivated in Italy, named here “Pasta 100% ITA wheat”, while 185 pasta samples were produced with a mixture of wheat cultivated in Italy and/or abroad and named throughout the manuscript “Pasta MIX
This paper describes, for the first time, the application of Fourier transform-near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy, combined with chemometrics, for the authentication of Italian pasta made exclusively with durum wheat cultivated in

Summary

Introduction

Pasta is a key element of the Mediterranean diet providing complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, mineral salts, and dietary fiber to consumers. Pasta produced from durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is of superior cooking quality thanks to several properties, including rheological properties, texture, color, and taste [1]. A quarter of the worldwide pasta output is produced in Italy, which has the highest annual production of about 3.4 million tons/year, accounting for 6% of total. Italian food industry production [2]. Is the largest pasta consumer (25.3 kg per capita/year), meaning that pasta represents a strategic product in the Italian agro-food industry [2]. Pasta is considered an indisputable symbol of “Made in Italy” products over the world, thanks to its nutritional value, high digestibility, good shelf life, availability through the market in many shapes, and low cost, representing a good attraction for the consumer.

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