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Detection and Quantification of Urea in Milk Using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

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Abstract

Milk adulteration with synthetic chemicals is a serious concern for human health. Urea is added in milk which causes severe stomach ailments. Potential of attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was evaluated for rapid detection and quantification of added urea in milk. Altogether, 210 spectra (4000–700 cm−1) of milk adulterated with known urea concentration (viz., 100 ppm, 500 ppm, 700 ppm, 900 ppm, 1300 ppm, and 2000 ppm) were analyzed. The spectral range of 1670–1564 cm−1 comprising four smaller spectral regions (1670–1653, 1649–1621, 1615–1580, and 1594–1564 cm−1) showed clear differences in absorption values. Pattern recognition analysis using Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) provided well-separated clusters, viz., pure milk and urea <900 ppm and urea >900 ppm. Quantity of urea was best predicted in the spectral range of 1649–1621 and 1611–1580 cm−1 using partial least square (PLS) regression with coefficient of determination 0.906 and 0.879 for calibration and validation, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Fund for Basic, Strategic and Frontier Application Research in Agriculture (NFBSFARA), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its subproject entitled “Development of Spectroscopic Methods for Detection and Quantification of Adulterants and Contaminants in Fruit Juices and Milk” (Code number-PHT-3031).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Principal Scientist & Head (Agricultural Structures and Environmental Control Division), Central Institute of Post-harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, 141004, India

    Shyam Narayan Jha, Pranita Jaiswal, Anjan Borah, Anuj Kumar Gautam & Neha Srivastava

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  1. Shyam Narayan Jha
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  2. Pranita Jaiswal
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  3. Anjan Borah
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  4. Anuj Kumar Gautam
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  5. Neha Srivastava
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Correspondence to Shyam Narayan Jha.

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Jha, S.N., Jaiswal, P., Borah, A. et al. Detection and Quantification of Urea in Milk Using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Food Bioprocess Technol 8, 926–933 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-014-1455-y

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