Applications of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) in Fish Value Chain

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has undergone a significant evolution in the last years due to the numerous scientific studies that revealed its potential for industrial applications, attracting a growing interest in the food sector. Furthermore, new advances have allowed the reduction in size and cost of the NIR devices, making them appropriate for on-site determinations. The complex structure of the fish value chain, combined to its high market value, makes this sector particularly vulnerable to fraud and adulteration practices. Also, the perishable nature of fish and fish products, as well as the lack of traceability, arises the urgent need for a fast, reliable and portable tool capable of precisely characterizing the quality and authenticity of the product while also ensuring its safety. In this chapter, the capabilities of NIRS combined to several chemometric techniques for quality, authenticity and safety applications are presented through an extensive review of the most recent research works.