Laser Sensing and Chemometric Analysis for Rapid Detection of Oregano Fraud.

World health is increasingly threatened by the growing number of spice-related food hazards. Further development of reliable methods for rapid, non-targeted identification of counterfeit ingredients within the supply chain is needed. ENEA has developed a portable, user-friendly photoacoustic laser system for food fraud detection, based on a quantum cascade laser and multivariate calibration. Following a study on the authenticity of saffron, the instrument was challenged with a more elusive adulterant, olive leaves in oregano. The results show that the reported method of laser sensing and chemometric analysis was able to detect adulterants at mass ratios of at least 20% in less than five minutes.

Characterization and Discrimination of Italian Olive (Olea europaea sativa) Cultivars by Production Area Using Different Analytical Methods Combined with Chemometric Analysis.

Olives and olive products are particularly important for the national agroindustrial sector, for the aspects related to the production territory (authenticity), and for the link with the Mediterranean Diet. Several studies indicate that the elemental profile of olive and olive products depends on the production area in which the olive trees were grown, and the elemental content of the olives can be used as a marker of the production area. In order to confirm this hypothesis, the multi-elemental profile of olive drupes and olive leaves of eleven cultivars arising from two different production areas was evaluated through ICP-MS and ICP-AES techniques. In addition, some leaf samples were analysed by LPAS in order to evaluate the applicability of this new analytical technique for determining the geographic origin. The obtained results, combined with chemometric tools, showed the possibility of discriminating samples according to the production area on the basis of the elemental content, as well as by LPAS.

Photoacoustic Laser System for Food Fraud Detection.

Economically motivated adulterations of food, in general, and spices, in particular, are an emerging threat to world health. Reliable techniques for the rapid screening of counterfeited ingredients in the supply chain need further development. Building on the experience gained with CO2 lasers, the Diagnostic and Metrology Laboratory of ENEA realized a compact and user-friendly photoacoustic laser system for food fraud detection, based on a quantum cascade laser. The sensor has been challenged with saffron adulteration. Multivariate data analysis tools indicated that the photoacoustic laser system was able to detect adulterants at mass ratios of 2% in less than two minutes.

Comprehensive Infrared Study of Tetryl, Dinitrotoluene, and Trinitrotoluene Compounds.

The present work describes an experimental and theoretical study of energetic materials used for detecting explosives in order to prevent terrorist actions, as well as for de-mining projects. Particular attention was devoted to examining the infrared absorption spectroscopy of classic explosives in order to create a useful mobile apparatus for on-field detection of explosives. This paper reports the vibrational absorption spectra of tetryl, dinitrotoluene, and trinitrotoluene molecules approached using two different spectroscopic techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (LPAS). Diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectra of all samples were analyzed in a very wide spectral range (400-7500 cm(-1)) showing for the first time the existence of weak absorption bands attributable to overtones or combination bands, while laser photoacoustic spectroscopy spectra have been investigated in the fingerprint region of organic compounds that share the CO2 laser emission range (~920-1100 cm(-1)). The Fourier transform infrared spectra of both matrix isolated dinitrotoluenes have been also investigated. The theoretical treatment of tetryl is reported for the first time.

Submersible Spectrofluorometer for Real-Time Sensing of Water Quality.

In this work, we present a newly developed submersible spectrofluorometer (patent pending) applied to real-time sensing of water quality, suitable for monitoring some important indicators of the ecological status of natural waters such as chlorophyll-a, oil and protein-like material. For the optomechanical realization of the apparatus, a novel conceptual design has been adopted in order to avoid filters and pumps while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. The elimination of filters and pumps has the advantage of greater system simplicity and especially of avoiding the risk of sample degradation. The use of light-emitting diodes as an excitation source instead of Xe lamps or laser diodes helped save on size, weight, power consumption and costs. For sensor calibration we performed measurements on water samples with added chlorophyll prepared in the laboratory. The sensor functionality was tested during field campaigns conducted at Albano Lake in Latium Region of Italy as well as in the Herzliya Harbor, a few kilometers North East of Tel Aviv in Israel. The obtained results are reported in the paper. The sensitivity achieved for chlorophyll-a detection was found to be at least 0.2 µg/L.