FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY FOR ANALYSIS OF DAIRY GHEE ADULTERATED WITH MINERAL OIL

Concept of food integrity to health is a hot topic with research ongoing globally to reduce adulteration in food. In an effort to follow up this cause, present research focused on detection of adulterated lower quality fats with genuine milk fats (ghee) is a key concern. Ghee is a pure clarified butter fat, widely used milk product in Indian sub-continent. Because of its satisfactory flavor and appetizing aroma, excessive dietary value, unique nature and its health benefits intend for its adulteration has usually been an extreme concern. The available methods to detect adulteration of mineral oil are time consuming and laborious. In order to get rid of these in discrepancies, the present paper deals with a promising, fast and effective method to detect the adulteration in ghee circulating in the market. Attenuated total reflectance – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR- FTIR) method for identifying mineral oil even at 0.1% was established. The results reveal that six peaks are common, especially 721.38cm-1 (C-Cl) and 1137.17cm-1 (C-H stretching) peaks area percentage decreases and intensity increases with the concentration of adulteration. From these results, FTIR techniques play a potential role and serves as a robust method for detection of mineral oil adulteration in dairy ghee.