Page 39 - FoodFocusThailand No.198 September 2022

SPECIAL FOCUS

Contamination and Adulteration shelf life of the yolk, study of the appropriate light spectrum for producing CBD, THC, and
Detection in Food and Agricultural Terpenes, which are the key compounds in hemp and marijuana, and study of the appropriate
Products: Synchrotron light provides light spectrum to maximize key compounds in Andrographis paniculata (“Fah Talai Jone” in
accuracy in detecting contamination and Thai) for pharmaceutical purposes, etc.
adulteration, such as detecting adulterants in SLRI scientists also worked with researchers from the government and private
edible bird’ nest products. Edible bird’s nest sectors to help adding value to pineapple peel waste. The waste was developed into
is a popular functional food in Asia, especially biosurfactants for vegetable, fruit, and meat washing products without leaving residues in
in Thailand and P.R. China. Edible bird’s nest food and environment. The team also worked together on creating package to add
contains biochemical compounds beneficial value to food and agricultural products. They collaborated with the private sector to
to human body such as a compound with develop Diamond-Like Carbon film (DLC) package to extend the shelf life of food and
Epidermal Growth Factor-like property which agricultural products. This package is also environmentally friendly as it is easily degradable
can stimulate lymphatic cells to improve the and recyclable.
immune system in human body. The nest also
contains N-acetyl Neuraminic Acid that
rejuvenates skin, relieves coughing and sore More Information Service Info C003
throat, and nourishes lungs and windpipe.
Sialic acid in a bird’s nest helps improving
memory and boosting the brains. Edible bird’s
nest is one of Thailand’s major products
exported to many countries, especially P.R.
China. Since edible bird’s nest is expensive
and limited, adulterants are added, such as
white egg yolk, white jelly mushroom, pork
skin, agar, gelatin, karaya gum from Yellow
Silk Cotton plant and others. With the higher
brightness and intensity than conventional
sources, the Infrared Synchrotron Radiation
(SR-IR) technique provides a high spatial
resolution of 10 µm. The technique can help
determining authenticity of edible bird’s nest,
as well as identifying adulterants. Pure edible
bird’s nest displayed unique infrared spectral
fingerprints of nutrients such as protein, fat,
carbohydrate, which were entirely different
from those of adulterants. The highlight of this
technique is that it does not destroy the
samples and can detect contaminants and
adulterants at the micron level.
Shelf-life Analysis: The infrared
synchrotron radiation (SR-IR) technique can
be applied for Lipid oxidation tracking. The
fingerprint region of Lipid oxidation contains
the band at 990-940 cm . Once lipids are
-1
oxidized, the specific band is at 966 cm which
-1
is when the unsaturated fatty acid forms a
trans-double bond, resulting in unpleasant
smell and taste or so-called rancidity. This
reaction is a free radical chain reaction that
will trigger the fatty acid chain, followed by a
series of reactions. The findings from the
SR-IR technique are in line with results from
the standard Peroxide Value method that is
often used for analyzing the Degree of Lipid
Oxidation. The collected data can be
calculated with the Kinetic model and
Arrhenius equation to study changes of
product quality during storage and evaluate
the product shelf life.
Additionally, the synchrotron light can be
utilized in many other types of research
related to food and agriculture, for example,
a study to observe the structure of rice that
was processed to obtain higher porosity,
tender texture and higher amount of iron, the
data collection of genetic diversity of upland
rice to promote agricultural careers among
the ethnic groups. Synchrotron light is also
applied in study of protein structure of egg
yolk with enzyme modification to determine
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