Quality Analysis and Detection of Adulterants and Contaminations in Milk/Milk Powder by Raman Spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy
• Food Science

Background:

• Milk and milk powder are vital global nutrition sources but are susceptible to adulteration and contamination.
• Adulteration compromises nutritional value, erodes consumer trust, and complicates regulatory oversight, especially for infant formulas.
• A need exists for rapid, non-destructive, field-deployable analytical platforms for multi-adulterant detection in dairy products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advancements in Raman spectroscopy for milk and milk powder authentication from 2015 to early 2025.
• To evaluate various Raman techniques, including conventional Raman, SERS, and hyperspectral imaging.
• To assess chemometric and machine/deep-learning approaches for data analysis in dairy authentication.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on Raman spectroscopy applications in dairy authentication (2015-2025).
• Analysis of conventional Raman, SERS, Fourier-transform Raman, and hyperspectral Raman imaging.
• Evaluation of chemometrics (PCA, PLSR, PLSDA) and machine/deep-learning models for classification and quantification.

Main Results:

• Raman spectroscopy provides specific chemical fingerprints of milk components and adulterants.
• SERS enhances sensitivity to ppm-ppb levels and reduces fluorescence, enabling detection of melamine, urea, and antibiotics.
• Hyperspectral imaging maps adulterant distribution and powder characteristics; chemometric and deep-learning models achieve high accuracy in classification and prediction.

Conclusions:

• Raman spectroscopy, augmented by SERS and hyperspectral imaging, is a scalable, label-free platform for rapid, non-destructive dairy authentication.
• Portable systems can aid nutritional profiling and contaminant surveillance in breast milk.
• Further innovation in instrumentation, substrates, and data analysis is needed for reliable field detection of adulterants and preservatives, enhancing food safety and regulatory compliance.