Food safety and quality has become increasingly important in our society. We demonstrate the use of spectroscopic sensing technologies to detect carcinogens in a non-destructive, accurate and in-line way. The interaction of laser light with food products enables to sense the presence of harmful elements, without affecting the products themselves. As an example, we focus on the monitoring of the acrylamide formation during French fries production and on the detection of mycotoxins in cereals. The integration of the optical sensing technologies in laser-based scanning systems, lab-on-a-chip configurations and robotics paves the way to an industrial implementation, contributing to an increased food safety.
Lien Smeesters, B-phot, Brussels Photonics Team
