Researchers from the University of Cordoba in Argentina have developed a non-invasive means for determining the quality of food using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

The research team determined that NIRS reveals the physical-chemical composition of a product based on how light interacts with the product. As such, a portable NIRS device was designed that is capable of analyzing food product quality by looking at characteristics associated with food safety and quality.

NIRS analysis of spinach plants directly in the field. Source: Universidad de Córdoba

For instance, the portable device could be used to determine soluble solid content, which influences when to harvest vegetables like spinach, and nitrate content, which is associated with appropriate fertilizer amounts.

According to its developers, the device, which can perform its assessments on site in the field in the case of vegetables and on other points along the supply chain, is inexpensive, fast and, most importantly, non-destructive. This is contrary to current methods for determining food quality, which require several food batches to be sampled, analyzed and inevitably destroyed, thereby resulting in considerable waste.

The research appears in the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology.