Geana Elisabeta-Irina
Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies, Romania
Title: Assessment of fruit juice authenticity - A chemometric approach based on sugars and organic acids fingerprints
Biography
Biography: Geana Elisabeta-Irina
Abstract
Fruits and fruit juices represent an important part of the human diet and because they shows a significant economic value on the market, remain among the products subject to counterfeiting practices, inducing a negative impact on the consumer and food industry. Sugars and organic acids are important components of fruits chemical composition, providing powerful tools for authenticity of fruit products. They also have an effect on the sensory properties and nutritional value of fruit products. The present study was undertaken to determine the concentration of several sugars and organic acids in different fresh fruit juices by using HPLC-ELSD and HPLC-PDA methods in order to establish the variance range of this compounds for each type of fruit juices and to create a referential database. Liniar discriminant analysis (LDA) models were constructed to classify juices according to the type of fruit, different sample locations and to distinguish between authentic, blended or adulterated juices. The developed methodology, based on fingerprinting of sugars and organic acids in conjunction with a comprehensive database and chemometric methods reveals a high potential for certification of fruit juices authenticity.