The spectroscopic signature is a unique and unambiguous indicator of a food's characteristics and properties, revealed the study of naturally leavened bread conducted by by the research teams.
Researchers succeeded in ‘deciphering’ and recognising the ‘signature’ of bread made with natural yeast by using a spectroscopic method based on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with matter. This is a non-destructive method, as the sample is not necessarily lost, and is easy to use thanks to portable analysis equipment that provides automatic responses based on database comparisons.
The study made particular use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), together with statistical models applied to chemistry and biochemistry and the analysis of data relating to biotechnology in the production of baked goods.
A tool for authenticity and quality
So what happens when an infrared ray passes through a slice of bread? It leaves a trace, represented by a curve that corresponds to the vibrations of the molecules, whose oscillations are conditioned by the material's characteristics.
  |
The curve can therefore be interpreted as a signature, whose letters and the way in which they are written depend not only on the vibrations of the molecules, but also on their interaction and on the microscopic structure of the slice of bread, determined by the technological/ biotechnological process that characterises that production. Due to the complexity of the interactions, the trace will therefore unequivocally identify a specific product, becoming a useful tool for ascertaining its authenticity, as well as its consistently high-quality standard.
As a matter of fact, quality attributes are not exclusively linked to ingredients, but also to technological processes (type of tools used in processing: mills, ovens, etc.) and biotechnological processes (fermentation phenomena often occur in production processes where particular microorganisms express different capacities for biotransformation of natural substrate molecules).
‘Food passports’ to protect excellence
In the near future, the increasingly widespread sharing of ‘spectroscopic signatures’ will be central to the creation of reference databases aimed at producing authentication models for other products. This approach will be increasingly used with a view to creating genuine ‘food passports’ to protect food and wine excellence, where ‘spectroscopic signatures’ will constitute unalterable ‘photos’ of food.
The study was conducted at the Department of Environmental Biology of Sapienza University, which has a research infrastructure laboratory. The expertise of spectroscopists and experts in statistics and mathematical models applied to chemistry and biochemistry was combined with that of food technologists and microbiologists to define methods for ascertaining the authenticity of bread made with natural yeast.
Multidisciplinarity to ensure food safety and quality
SUR researchers involved in the project are part of the METROFOOD-IT research infrastructure, funded by the EU through Italy’s recovery and resilience plan. Its specific aim is to ensure the safety and quality of agri-food supply chains by implementing a multidisciplinary approach that provides a comprehensive description of production processes, from field to table.
The unmistakable trace characteristic of bread made with sourdough starter identified now will help to ensure consistent quality standards for consumers, producers and distributors alike.
Latest Highlights:
Christian Möllmann: A "civizen" linking European and African universities
Aix-Marseille Université hosted the celebration of "25 Years of Téthys network"
European Round Table at UNIL, tackling Joint Doctoral Programmes
Stockholm Declaration on Chemistry for the Future, launched during the Nobel Symposium