The metabolomics approach used for halal authentication analysis of food and pharmaceutical products: a review

Abstract

Motivated by economical profits, unethical producers may add or substitute halal components with non-halal ones, therefore some analytical techniques capable of detecting non-halal components is very urgent to be developed. Halal authentication analysis in the food and pharmaceutical sectors is intended to confirm that the products are free from non-halal components, especially pig derivatives (any substances derived from pig). Analysis of non-halal components in food and pharmaceutical products can be undertaken using three approaches namely specific component analysis by identifying specific marker, fingerprinting profile and metabolomics approach. The two later approaches typically need the use of some chemometrics techniques including pattern recognition and multivariate calibrations. Metabolomics is related to the science of investigating all metabolites with small molecules (< 1500 kDa) in biological systems. Metabolomic studies either target or untarget the application of chemometric methods to extract valued information from metabolites. This review highlighted some analytical techniques, mainly spectroscopic and chromatographic methods to generate the fingerprinting and metabolomics profiles of non-halal components to be used as reliable halal authentication. The metabolomics approach in combination with chemometrics offered accurate and reliable methods for the authentication of halal products.