Application of FTIR-ATR to discriminate peach nectars with higher and lower sugar contents

Abstract

Fruit juice does not have the same nutritional value as fresh fruit with regards to the vitamin, mineral and dietary fibre contents and the antioxidant properties. However, it can be part of a healthy diet if it is produced with the minimal addition of sugar. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the FTIR-ATR technique to discriminate the authenticity (concerning the addition of other pulps) and amount of sugar in peach nectars. This technique is usually used in food analysis because it does not require sample preparation, is quick and allows for the determination of several parameters with a single sample aliquot. The nutritional information provided on the labels of 69 samples of 23 different brands of commercial peach juice, was analysed. The differences in the nutritional composition and in the ingredients were determined according to an analysis of the labels. The largest differences observed between the samples were the sugar contents, the percentages of pulp and the addition of other pulps. All samples were analysed by FTIR-ATR equipped with a controlled temperature flow-through cell. The spectral multivariate analysis suggested it was possible to identify differences in the amount of sugar present and identify the presence of fruit pulps other than peach