Turkish delight, baklava, halva, biscotti, mortadella, ice cream and many more delicious foods from around the world contain pistachios, which are pricey and therefore a popular target for food fraud. A recent article describes a method to detect spinach and green peas that often are used as a pistachio replacement due to their color and low price. The technique combines NIR (near infrared) spectroscopy and chemometric analysis and provides a method that is precise, fast and non-destructive.

Resource

1. Genis, H.E., et al. (August 15, 2020). “Determination of green pea and spinach adulteration in pistachio nuts using NIR spectroscopy”. Science Direct. LWT.