Rapid detection of adulteration of cold pressed sesame oil adultered with hazelnut, canola, and sunflower oils using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric

Sesame oil is one of the most valuable oil due to its bioactive properties, unique taste, odor, and flavor. Therefore, consumers tend to consume and willing to pay a higher price for sesame oil due to increasing awareness of consuming healthier and better food. However, sesame oil is subjected to adulteration risks with lower price vegetable oils which impairs consumer rights and human health. In this study, we purposed an ATR-FTIR based method for the rapid detection of food adulteration in sesame oil. For this purpose, sesame oil was adulterated with hazelnut, canola, and sun flower oils in different concentrations ranged from 1 to 50%. Cluster analysis of FTIR spectra was performed for differentiation and classification of pure sesame oil from adultured vegetable oil samples. In addition, a calibration curve was obtained to determine relationship between actual adulterant concentration and FTIR predicted concentrations using partial least square (PLS) method for each oil samples. According to these results, it could be concluded that ATR-FTIR technique has a potential for adulteration of sesame oil as a non-destructive, rapid, and effective alternative method.