Component identification of subsurface food additives by spatially offset Raman spectroscopy

Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) is an important branch derived from conventional Raman spectroscopy. It has the characteristics to realize the concealed component identification covered by opaque and translucent media nondestructively and rapidly. This technology gradually plays an important role in basic and applied research of numerous areas. This paper focuses on the SORS potential application in food quality and safety inspection, and a SORS detection system has been setup. The ingredients of various concealed food additives have been identified by SORS and the optimum offset distance for detection has been obtained. Meanwhile, the identification effectiveness of the system for low-concentration additives in real foods has also been evaluated.