Development of Food Caloric Measurement Method and Instrument by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

We discovered the absorption wavelengths of food calories by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, and developed both a non-destructive measurement method of food calories with these wavelengths and a food caloric measurement instrument based on our developed method. A higher correlation between the referred caloric values and the measured values for the food samples was confirmed using multiple regression equations applied with these wavelengths. We constructed measurement instruments embedded with these multiple regression equations that directly measured food calories. The measurement instrument consists of a NIR source, an AOTF spectroscopy, a detector, a turning table, a controller, and a display. The caloric value of food can be measured by placing the food on the turning table. This food caloric measurement instrument has been commercially available since 2005.