Detecting Common Wheat in Durum Wheat with Videometer at LGC Group, UK

Lab of Government Chemist (LGC ltd) shows in an open-access paper the potential of spectral imaging with VideometerLab for durum wheat authentication. The laboratory was detecting common wheat in durum wheat.

How to authenticate wheat?

Common and durum wheat can be considered very similar, especially to the naked human eye. However, the taste and the cost differ, hence it is important to authenticate durum wheat as it is often adulterated with a common one.

LGC conducted a study to find out if spectral imaging technology is suitable for wheat authentication. Their experiment has been successful, as it was concluded by:

MSI and HSI were capable of rapidly distinguishing between durum wheat and adulterant common wheat cultivars and assigning percentage adulteration levels characterised by low biases and good repeatability estimates. The results demonstrated the potential for spectral imaging-based seed/grain adulteration testing to augment existing standard molecular approaches for food authenticity testing.

Wilkes, T., Nixon, G., Bushell, C., Waltho, A., Alroichdi, A., & Burns, M. (2016b). Feasibility Study for Applying Spectral Imaging for Wheat Grain Authenticity Testing in Pasta. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 07(05), 355–361.

The image shows pure durum wheat to the left and common wheat to the right. The coloring is based on the spectral fingerprint that distinguishes durum wheat from common wheat.

References

Wilkes, T., Nixon, G., Bushell, C., Waltho, A., Alroichdi, A., & Burns, M. (2016b). Feasibility Study for Applying Spectral Imaging for Wheat Grain Authenticity Testing in Pasta. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 07(05), 355–361.