SensorFINT, the new European Network for assuring food integrity using non-destructive spectral sensors
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VOL. 33 NO. 3 (2021)
ARTICLE
SensorFINT, the new European
Network for assuring food
integrity using non-destructive
spectral sensors
Lola Pérez-Marín
Chair of SensorFINT COST Action, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry Engineering (ETSIAM), University of Córdoba,
Campus Rabanales, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
The SensorFINT COST Action (CA19145) a unique digital fingerprint of the product and the building of real-time decision-
is a European Network for assuring food and, therefore, a new digital labelling strat- making systems are critical issues to be
integrity using non-destructive spectral egy with a more complete information considered.
sensors. SensorFINT is funded by the about the product for consumers. In this Action, specific consideration has
European Cooperation in Science and Currently, there is an increasing need been given to those topics, challenges or
Technology (COST) organisation with for the food industry to provide informa- key issues in NDSS for research and inno-
the primary objective of promoting the tion on their products in order to satisfy vation that are still unaddressed or, at
creation of research networks in inno- consumer demands, quality standards, to least, only partially addressed, such as:
vative areas, facilitating the collabora- produce more and to protect their prod- The integration of several spectral
tion between academia and industry in ucts from food fraud. Recent develop- sensors (NIR, fluorescence, Raman
Europe and beyond. ments in technology, and advances in etc.), especially combined with imag-
Our main objective is to create a vibrant big data analytics, provide the oppor- ing systems, to solve critical issues in
and multidisciplinary network focused on tunity for step-changes that can trans- the agro–food sector. Therefore, the
the application of non-destructive spectral form the role of food integrity assurance Action tackles the scientific break-
sensors to solve the demands of indus- from one of just strictly conformance throughs necessary for the fusion
try for assessment of the quality, safety, to one that addresses a wide range of of NDSS so that they can be imple-
authenticity and traceability of food, business-c ritical concerns, including mented in many parts of the food
combining experience in research, manu- quality, safety and authenticity solu- chain, regardless of the demon-
facture, training and technology transfer to tions. Non-Destructive Spectroscopic strated development of each tech-
accelerate spectral sensor implementa- Sensors (NDSS), such as near infrared nology separately for different food
tion throughout the food chain. Thus, the (NIR) spectroscopy, fluorescence, Raman applications.
Action is oriented to the use of sensors or hyperspectral imaging, enable rapid, The role of NDSS for the wide-
and technologies that allow the design of non-destructive and environmentally- spread sampling of bulk products
new, intelligent quality control systems to safe assessment of multiple parame- and batches, highlighting one of their
achieve the new challenges of Industry ters in a variety of food products. Most main advantages, which has not yet
4.0. That is, a widespread and instanta- applications of these technologies in the been fully exploited, the possibility
neous non-destructive inspection of food food industry are carried out in the labo- of reducing the sampling error and,
products to enable decisions to be taken ratory. Nevertheless, industry requires therefore, the total analytical error,
in real time from “field to fork”, providing them to be deployed in situ, i.e. on-line, providing a more precise answer.
in-line, on-farm, in-field, for full process The development of ready-to-use
DOI: 10.1255/sew.2021.a13 control over the entire food chain. These analytical systems, based on the
© 2021 The Author requirements introduce constraints on integration and combination of low-
sensor design and calibration develop- cost, portable and miniature NDSS,
Published under a Creative Commons ment, which do not normally apply to and information and communication
BY licence laboratory-based instruments. Long-term technologies (ICT) for process control
stability of instruments, robustness of and voluntary labelling, to guarantee
calibrations, sensor integration in produc- the integrity and reputation of high
tion environments, transferability of data added-value products.
www.spectroscopyeurope.com SPECTROSCOPYEUROPE 15
VOL. 33 NO. 3 (2021) ARTICLE Figure 1. Kick-off meeting of SensorFINT via Zoom. The potential of NDSS as non-targeted The SensorFINT Action will manage This will involve different strengths and methods for the individual control of these NDSS challenges for the demands expertise, turning innovative ideas and a product item, providing a product of the food industry, advancing the state- breakthroughs into new products, solu- fingerprint as a valuable tool for food of-the-art in the technologies and contrib- tions and applications. The project is struc- authentication and fraud prevention. uting to advances in NDSS applications. tured into five Working Groups: 16 SPECTROSCOPYEUROPE www.spectroscopyeurope.com
VOL. 33 NO. 3 (2021)
ARTICLE
1) NDSS for innovation in process
control and labelling in the European
food industry.
2) Innovation related to the integration
of multiple NDSS methods for critical
issues in food integrity.
3) Novel mathematical algorithms and
methods for processing NDSS in real
time.
4) Use of ICT in building decision
support systems for the industrial
implementation of NDSS.
5) Dissemination and exploitation.
Under the framework of SensorFINT,
a range of activities (conferences, work-
shops, training schools, exchanges and
other dissemination activities) will be
organised and funded to promote the
culture of NDSS, their implementation in
industry and to train future researchers
and specialists in the field.
The SensorFINT Action is an open
network, now involving more than
30 countries and 150 researchers
from Europe and beyond, and it still
welcomes new researchers working on
spectral sensors, data processing or ICT.
Networking activities of the Action, with-
out any doubt, will promote the exchange
of information between European and
International partners, the dissemina-
tion of results and the training of young
researchers, who will convert scientific
results into a reality that matches indus-
trial needs.
The Action started officially at the
beginning of October 2020 (Figure 1)
and will continue for four years. More
information on all the events being
Figure 2. The SensorFINT website.
organised, the members of the Action,
the travel grants (STSM, Short-Term
Scientific Missions) and much more
could be found on our website, www.
sensorfint.eu (Figure 2). Also, you may
follow us on social media (Twitter, Dr Lola Peréz-Marín, Full-Professor in the Faculty of
Instagram, Linkedin or Facebook) and Agriculture and Forestry Engineering, University of
Cordoba, Spain, is a worldwide-recognised expert in
be updated daily with all the information
the use of NIR sensors for food integrity assessment.
about SensorFINT’s activity.
President of the Educational Committee of ICNIRS and
My last message, please book for our Member of the International Scientific Advisory Board
First International SensorFINT Workshop of the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s
“Smart Spectral Sensors for Agri-Food University Belfast, UK. Recipient in 2014 of the inter-
Quality and Process Control” that will be national Tomas Hirschfeld Award and in 2020 of the
held in Porto (Portugal) from 16 to 17 international Gerald S. Birth Award for her outstanding
September 2021: a must-attend event contribution in the field of NIR spectroscopy.
for the whole NDSS community. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6629-4003
dcperez@uco.es
www.spectroscopyeurope.com SPECTROSCOPYEUROPE 17
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