Spectroscopic techniques for monitoring changes in the quality of milk and other dairy products during processing and storage

The application of spectroscopic techniques can help in alleviating problems encountered during the processing of milk and dairy products. Indeed, traditional analytical methods (e.g., physicochemical measurements, sensory, chromatography) are relatively expensive, time-consuming, and require chemicals and sophisticated analytical equipment, and skilled operators. Hence, there is a need to develop faster and less costly methods for accurately monitoring changes in the quality of milk and other dairy products during processing and storage. Many nondestructive and noninvasive instrumental techniques are available for inline and online monitoring of food. These include fluorescence spectroscopy, mid-infrared (MIR), near-infrared (NIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), etc. These techniques are usually used in combination with chemometric tools a to explore the information present in spectral data. This review article will discuss the potential of the above-mentioned spectroscopic techniques for monitoring chemical modifications of dairy products and the prediction of their functional properties during processing. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique are also discussed in this review. Finally, some conclusions are drawn, and the future trends of these methods are presented.