Measurement of water-holding capacity in fermented milk using near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometric methods

We investigated the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) for measuring water-holding capacity (WHC) in fermented milk. Increased WHC ensures improved texture and decreased syneresis in fermented dairy products and also improves cheese yield. NIR combined with partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was found to be a promising rapid and non-invasive method with no pretreatment of the samples for prediction of WHC in fermented milk samples. Analysis of the chemical bonds in the region 10 700-4500 cm(-1) (935-2200 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum was able to distinguish between samples with high vs. low WHC. This technique was successfully used to screen different strains of lactic acid bacteria for their ability to provide fermented milk with increased WHC, which is of great importance for use in various dairy products.

Automated summary

This study investigated the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for predicting water-holding capacity (WHC) in fermented milk samples. The results showed that this rapid and non-invasive method could differentiate between samples with high and low WHC, without the need for sample pretreatment. The technique was successfully used to screen different strains of lactic acid bacteria for their ability to improve WHC in fermented milk.