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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Identification of Fatty Acids in Bacillus cereus
Published on: December 5, 2016
Influence of fatty acid chain length and unsaturation on mid-infrared milk analysis
K E Kaylegian1, J M Lynch, J R Fleming
1Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center, Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Abstract:
Our first objective was to optimize center wavelengths and bandwidths for virtual filters used in a Fourier transform mid-infrared (MIR) milk analyzer. Optimization was accomplished by adjusting center wavelengths and bandwidths to minimize the size of intercorrection factors. Once optimized, the virtual filters were defined as follows: fat B sample, 3.508 microm (2,851 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.032 microm (26 cm(-1)); fat B reference, 3.556 microm (2812 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.030 microm (24 cm(-1)); lactose sample, 9.542 microm (1,048 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.092 microm (20 cm(-1)); lactose reference, 7.734 microm (1,293 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.084 microm (14 cm(-1)); protein sample, 6.489 microm (1,541 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.085 microm (20 cm(-1)); protein reference, 6.707 microm (1491 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.054 microm (12 cm(-1)); fat A sample, 5.721 microm (1,748 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.052 microm (16 cm(-1)); fat A reference, 5.583 microm (1,791 cm(-1)), and bandwidth of 0.050 microm (16 cm(-1)). The bandwidth and its proximity to areas of intense water absorption had the largest effect on the intercorrection factors. The second objective was to quantify the impact of fatty acid chain length and unsaturation on fat B and fat A MIR measurements. Increasing the chain length increased the difference (i.e., MIR minus reference) between MIR prediction and reference chemistry by 0.0429% and by -0.0566% fat per unit of increase in carbon number per 1% change in fat, for fat B and fat A, respectively. Increasing the unsaturation decreased the difference (i.e., MIR minus reference) between MIR prediction of fat and chemistry for fat B by -0.4021% and increased fat A by 0.0291% fat per unit of increase in double bonds per 1% change in fat concentration.
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