The use of spectroscopic techniques and chemometric methods in milk technology

The use of spectroscopic techniques is on the rise in food industry, and the answers they provide facilitate problem solving in food production and distribution. The application of spectroscopic techniques in dairy technology allows quick and cheap qualitative and quantitative analyses, and is essential in describing the structure and texture properties of dairy products. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of individual components in composite systems may be problematic due to overlaps in spectral responses. An ideal tool to solve this problem is chemometry, a discipline using mathematical and statistical methods to design or choose an optimum measuring procedure or experiment, and to facilitate obtaining the maximum number of information by analysing the data provided. Chemometry is most frequently used in the analysis of data groups and recognition of mathematic models. Spectroscopic techniques combined with chemometric methods make a valuable tool for process monitoring and quality control management.