Screening method for the rapid detection of diethylene glycol in beer based on chemometrics and portable near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

A recent case of contamination of some batches of a Brazilian beer brand with diethylene glycol (DEG) had great repercussion, resulting in at least seven deaths. In this article, a direct method was developed for the rapid detection of DEG in beer samples based on portable near-infrared spectroscopy combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The discriminant model was built with 100 uncontaminated beer samples and 100 samples containing DEG in a concentration range between 10 and 1000 mg L−1, totalizing 200 samples of different brands and styles. The method was validated by estimating figures of merit, such as false positive and false negative rates, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, accordance, and concordance. The decision limit (CCα) of the method was 52 mg L−1 and the detection capability (CCβ) was 106 mg L−1. This method does not consume reagents/solvents and can be suitable for the beer industry quality control or forensic investigations.