V. Baeten

• Walloon Agricultural Research Centre

Insect-based products, such as insect meals, have experienced significant growth in recent years due to their composition, making them excellent substitutes for commonly used ingredients in feed. Currently, only eight insect species are authorised for use in feed, and their nutritional value varies depending on species, developmental stages, and di...

The use of chemical herbicides induces negative impacts on the environment, animals, and human health. It also leads to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds. In this context, natural and efficacious herbicides are highly sought after. Essential oils are natural compounds with antibacterial, fungicidal, and phytotoxic properties. For this re...

Rice is considered a staple food in Asia, Africa, and Latin American countries. As interest in healthier lifestyles increases, the market for organic brown rice is growing. Concurrently, there is a rising concern about developing fast and environmentally friendly analytical monitoring tools that can ensure the quality of brown rice by dis tinguishi...

This study evaluates the performance of four Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS) methods, focusing on a new Local Partial Least Squares Regression (LPLS) variant integrating wavelet transformation, named WLPLS, for analyzing feed using Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. While traditional PLS methods are effective for many spectroscopic applicatio...

Since 2017, insect meals have been authorised for animal feed in the European Union, but only eight insect species can be used to produce these meals. This legislation brings with it new analytical challenges, such as the need to identify the insect species processed in the meal. This paper investigated the ability of Near Infrared Microscopy (NIRM...

The t‐distributed stochastic neighbour embedding algorithm or t‐SNE is a non‐linear dimension reduction method used to visualise multivariate data. It enables a high‐dimensional dataset, such as a set of infrared spectra, to be represented on a single, typically two‐dimensional graph, revealing its global and local structure. t‐SNE is very popular...

The aim of the present study was to compare different spectroscopic techniques using the example of adulteration of pumpkin seed oil with rapeseed oil in combination with a multivariate regression method. A total of 124 pure seed oils and 96 adulterated samples (adulteration levels from 0.5 to 90.0% w/w) were analyzed using mid infrared, Raman, and...

Description of the subject. The use of non-Saccharomyces yeast for improving fine cocoa flavor perception has been poorly explored. Objectives. In this study, we investigated the contribution of the non-Saccharomyces yeasts producing β-glycosidase isolated from the spontaneous fermentation of cocoa to the quality and production of aromas during the...

The circular economy is one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. In this context, the use of former foodstuffs containing ruminant gelatin was recently authorized in nonruminant feed. This minor modification makes it more challenging, if not impossible, to interpret the analytical results of the official control for animal protei...

Sustainable dairy farms are characterised by the self-production of forage for animal feed. These farms are sometimes located near industrial areas, entailing a risk of food chain contamination with hazardous metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Accordingly, evaluating the impact of pollution on forage and milk is of great interest....

Since their approval for use in aquaculture in 2017, processed insect proteins have been extensively studied for their nutritional quality in animal feed. This new type of meal is highly promising but requires, as for other products used in animal feed, strict sanitary control in accordance with European legislation. Within this legal framework, li...

It is a special issue of the scientific journal BASE (Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment) related to the 150 years of CRA-W in 2022 and part of it gathers articles related to scientific communications made at the Feed International Conference 2021 of Vienna. Weblink to the special issue : http://popups.ulg.be/1780-4507/index.php?id=19...

Melamine is a chemical compound generating a very characteristic Raman signature. This component is fraudulently added to milk to artificially increase its nitrogen content (and thereby its apparent protein content). In this paper we evaluate the ability of a specific wide‐field Fourier‐based Raman imaging system to identify melamine. The melamine...

Cocoa hybridisation generates new varieties which are resistant to several plant diseases, but has individual chemical characteristics that affect chocolate production. Image analysis is a useful method for visual discrimination of cocoa beans, while deep learning (DL) has emerged as the de facto technique for image processing. However, these algor...

Near-infrared (NIR), mid-infrared (MIR), Raman spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) were comprehensively compared for their capacity to evaluate the composition and texture characteristics of apple purees issued from a large variability (cultivar, fruit thinning, post-harvest mealy texture and processing). NIR, MIR and HSI techniques had a...

Fermentation of cocoa is a key process to obtain aromatic chocolate products from raw cocoa beans. Hitherto, the levels of fermentation in cocoa are determined using destructive techniques, for example by a cut-test to manually observe the colour inside the beans, or by quantifying ammonia nitrogen (NH3) in the cocoa powder. In this paper, we prese...

Description of the subject. Feed is the main variable cost in dairy farming. More efficient use of forage resources is one way to reduce production costs. Improving forage resource efficiency can start with a better assessment of the dry matter content and nutritional value of forages. Currently, analytical process time is often long and analyses a...

The applicability of real-time PCR to highly processed cocoa-derived products for authentication purposes depends on the possibility of extracting high quality DNA and developing efficient PCR tests. This study compares three methods for DNA extraction from cocoa-derived products and chocolate. The best method providing suitable DNA for PCR amplifi...

The challenges for the feed analysis sector will be to ensure feed quality and safety. Innovative strategies need to be implemented to authenticate feed and feed ingredients and to check that they fulfill all labelling obligations. This chapter focusses on the authentication of feed by different but complementary analytical techniques as microscopy...

Description of the subject. Phenolic compounds are very important to the antioxidant capacity of plant species. Phenolic compounds and hence antioxidant capacity are commonly measured in the laboratory using indirect methods that involve several stages and chemicals. Objectives. This study aims to identify species with high content of phenolic comp...

Description of the subject. Given the current low price of milk, a lot of producers have decided to process their milk into products with a higher added-value, including butter. However, all milks are not suitable to be transformed into butter. It would thus be useful to be able to predict milk processing properties. Objectives. The aim of this pap...

Benchtop and portable devices based on near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy are increasingly used to evaluate the quality parameters of fruits. This study aims to compare the analytical performance of a benchtop spectrometer (XDS) and a handheld ultra-compact spectrometer (MicroNIR) and to investigate calibration transfer between these devices for qual...

Since the beginning of the feed ban regarding the use of processed animal protein (PAP) in feedstuffs, one of the main challenges has been to develop methods to detect and identify the type and origin of PAP or animal products. By now, in the context of a controlled relaxation of the ban, complementary methods are sought to characterize the product...

For laying hens, free-range systems are promoted to improve both animal behavior and egg quality. In this context, estimation of feed intake, and particularly the proportion of herbage in the diet, has become a hot topic in poultry feeding management. During experiments, animals are housed in individual cages to measure daily ingestion, calculated...

Spectroscopic techniques combined with chemometrics are a promising tool for analysis of seized drug powders. In this study, the performance of three spectroscopic techniques [Mid-InfraRed (MIR), Raman and Near-InfraRed (NIR)] was compared. In total, 364 seized powders were analyzed and consisted of 276 cocaine powders (with concentrations ranging...

In the present work, the provenance discrimination of Argentinian honeys was used as case study to compare the capabilities of three spectroscopic techniques as fast screening platforms for honey authentication purposes. Multifloral honeys were collected among three main honey-producing regions of Argentina over four harvesting seasons. Each sample...

In the context of the expansion of the human population, availability of food, and in extension of animal feed, is a big issue. Favoring a circular economy by the valorisation of by-products is a sustainable way to be more efficient. Animal by-products are an interesting source of feed materials due to their richness in proteins of high nutritional...

In this study a quick and efficient routine procedure for food fraud detection by multiple adulterants is presented. Non-targeted analysis employs the Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy measurements and one-class classification modeling as the chemometric data processing. The approach is illustrated by the analysis of a large collection of NIR spectr...

In the dataset presented in this article, sixty sugarcane samples were analyzed by eight visible / near infrared spectrometers including seven micro-spectrometers. There is one file per spectrometer with sample name, wavelength, absorbance data [calculated as log10 (1/Reflectance)], and another file for reference data, in order to assess the potent...

The hybridization of cocoa generates new varieties with the aim of opening new flavors, textures, and disease resistance. The objective of this study was to develop and validate classification models based on NIR hyperspectral imaging and chemometrics for the discrimination of five valuable cocoa bean hybrids. The chemometrics tools, PLS-DA and SVM...

The changes of soil organic matter (SOM) humification induced by long-term combination of tillage and olive mill wastewater (OMW) application compared to natural and cultivated soil have been little investigated. This study aimed to compare effects of no cultivation with natural vegetation soil (NC), tillage (CT1) for 80 years and combination of ti...

The purpose of this work was to develop a new multivariate calibration method using partial least squares (PLS) regression to quantify methane (CH4) in samples of gases eructed by ruminants and exhaled together with the respiration of cows. Four Holstein cows were confined and received a diet of 18.7 kg of dry matter per day for 4 days. During this...

Soil fertility in arid areas is poor due to the climatic conditions, weak natural biomass and inappropriate agricultural practices. Soil fertility can be determined by asses the chemical composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic matter (SOM) quantity in different systems of soil management. To identify efficient field management pra...

Consumers are more and more interested in food safety and quality. Various analytical techniques are proposed. Among them we can find vibrational spectroscopic techniques (e.g., near-infrared [NIR], mid-infrared [MIR], and Raman). Food products have their specific composition, which allows characteristic spectra considered as “fingerprint.” Spectro...

Hydrocolloids such as natural gums and carrageenans are used extensively in the food industry in various mixtures that are difficult to be characterised due to their similar chemical structure. The aim of this study was to develop an analytical framework for the identification and quantification of these compounds in complex mixtures using Near-inf...

Description. Since 2001, the number of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases has drastically declined. A gradual lifting of the feed ban for aquaculture was possible in 2013 but this partial relaxation makes its control much more complex. Objectives. The objective was to have a practical overview of the current analytical situation and to highlig...

In order to guarantee food integrity, testing methods should also include the tools needed to verify the geographical origin described on the label. In the particular case of virgin olive oil (VOO), regulatory bodies have yet to establish a standard for geographical identification. This manuscript describes a procedure based on Raman spectroscopy t...

A portable Fourier Transform Mid-InfraRed (FT-MIR) spectrometer using Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) sampling is used for daily routine screening of seized powders. Earlier, ATR-FT-MIR combined with Support Vector Machines (SVM) algorithms resulted in a significant improvement of the screening method to a reliable and straightforward classifica...

Shark's buoyancy depends on two types of force: (i) the hydrostatic force which is mainly provided by their liver filled with low density lipids and (ii) the hydrodynamic force which is provided by the morphology of their body and fins. Shallow-water shark species are usually negatively buoyant, whereas deep-sea shark species have been suggested to...

Near infrared hyperspectral imaging with multivariate image analysis was evaluated for its potential to grade whole white maize kernels. The study was based on grading regulations stipulated in South African legislation and aimed to provide an alternative to the tedious and subjective manual methods currently used. The types of undesirable material...

Cet article synthétise les résultats de plusieurs études menées sur des systèmes racinaires de pois protéagineux en utilisant les données fournies par l'imagerie hyperspectrale proche infrarouge, une technique d'analyse combinant l'imagerie et la spectroscopie vibrationnelle. Dans un premier cas d'étude, cette méthode d'analyse a permis de quantifi...

A local‐based method for near‐infrared spectroscopy predictions, the local partial least squares regression on global PLS scores (LPLS‐S), is proposed in this work and compared with the usual local PLS (LPLS) regression approach. LPLS‐S is based on the idea of replacing the original spectra with a global PLS score matrix before using the usual LPLS...

Validation study on insect processed animal proteins isolation method by double PE/TCE sedimentation

Honey is the natural substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from the plant nectar or excretions of plant-sucking insects. In the supply and distribution chain, mono-floral and mono-geographic honeys usually command a premium price. Argentina is on the main honey producers in the world and methods to autenticate specific regions are needed. Purpo...

The world market for herbs and spices is valued at US $4 billion, and is expected to grow in the near future. In this sector, supply chains tend to be long, complex and can pass through many countries. One of the most common adulterations is the addition of cheaper ground bulkingagents, such as cistus, myrtle and olive leaves. Herbs and spices are...

According to Italian regulation, 3% of common wheat - CW (Triticum aestivum) in durum wheat - DW (Triticum durum) is the maximum permitted to produce pasta. Therefore, efficient methods for the detection of accidental or intentional contamination of DW products with CW are required. Until now, all the studies dealing with the detection of CW in DW...

Leghaemoglobin content in nodules is closely related to the amount of nitrogen fixed by the legume–rhizobium symbiosis. It is, therefore, commonly measured in order to assess the effect of growth-promoting parameters such as fertilisation on the symbiotic nitrogen fixation efficiency of legumes. The cyanmethaemoglobin method is a reference method i...

Hyperspectral imaging is a powerful technique that combines the advantages of near infrared spectroscopy and imaging technologies. Most hyperspectral imaging studies focus on qualitative analysis, but there is growing interest in using such technique for the quantitative analysis of agro-food products in order to use them as universal tools. The ov...

Fluorescence spectroscopy is a powerful method for protein analysis. Its sensitivity and selectivity allow its use for the detection of blood meal and blood products. This study proposes a novel approach for the detection of hemoglobin in animal feed by synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS). The objective was to develop a fast and easy method...

Insect processed animal proteins (PAPs) constitute a new alternative source of proteins in feed. In 2017, a closed list of insect species was authorized on the European market for use in aquafeed production. Authenticity and contamination controls will have to be set up by authorities and feed actors and supported by adequate detection methods, whi...

The recent developments of indirect models (e.g. bhb, methane emissions,…) based on mid infrared spectroscopy of milk have obliged the implementation of a standardization procedure. It permits their transfer between instruments of the same or/and different brands. Moreover, it stabilizes and corrects the deviations resulting from hardware modificat...

Lors d'études de systèmes racinaires sur base de prélèvements de carottes de sol, une étape préliminaire à la quantification racinaire consiste à éliminer manuellement les résidus de cultures et les particules de sol récupérés avec les racines lors du lavage des échantillons. En présence de racines de différentes espèces, cette étape s'accompagne d...

Description of the subject. The article deals with the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) on fresh apples to determine the phenolic compounds and dry matter content in peel and flesh powders. Objectives. The aim is the rapid and non-destructive determination of these nutritional parameters. Method. Two hundred twenty-nine fruits from 20 variet...

Since adulteration can have serious consequences on human health, it affects market growth by destroying consumer confidence. Therefore, authentication of food is important for food processors, retailers and consumers, but also for regulatory authorities. However, a complex nature of food and an increase in types of adulterants make their detection...

Feed sustainability is one of the biggest challenges for the next few years. Solutions have to be found that take feed quality and safety into account. Animal by-products are one valuable source of proteins. However, since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, their use has been strictly regulated. The objective of this study was to pr...

The objective of this study is to assess NIR hyperspectral imaging for the detection of ergot bodies at the particle level in cereal flour. For this study, ground ergot body samples and wheat flour samples as well as mixtures of both from 100 mg/kg to 500,000 mg/kg were analysed. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were deve...

Analyses of phenolic compounds can be time-consuming and not always very reliable. Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy could be used as a non-destructive tool for food quality analysis and control. The MIR spectra of 36 standard phenolic compounds (13 phenolic acids [hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acids], 23 flavonoids [flavonols, flavones, isoflav...

Bone fragments are essential structures for the detection of processed animal proteins (PAPs) in feed by light microscopy for official controls according to Annex VI of European Union Regulation EC/152/2009. The preparation of samples submitted for analysis requires a grinding step to make them suitable for microscopic slide preparation and observa...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of light microscopy with a differential staining technique for the discrimination of insect material from marine arthropods - classified as fishmeal. Specifically, three samples of single species insect material, Hermetia illucens (HI), Bombyx mori (BM) and Tenebrio molitor (TM) and two samples of marin...

Author Summary Classical chromatographic methods, such as ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), are used as reference methods to assess seed quality and homogeneous pesticide coating of seeds. These methods have some important drawbacks since they are time consuming, expensive, destructive and require a substantial amount of solvent, amon...

Currently, many methods based on various analytical techniques are used to authenticate agro-food products. Among them, vibrational spectroscopy techniques include NIR, MIR, Raman and Terahertz techniques. They are techniques to consider when authenticity controls need to be established at the field level, at the point where products are delivered...

Near infrared microscopy (NIRM) has been developed as a rapid technique to predict the chemical composition of foods, reduce analytical costs and time and ease sample preparation. In this study, NIRM has been evaluated as an alternative to classical chemical analysis to determine the nitrogen and carbon content of small samples of tomato (Solanum l...

This study aimed at verifying if the hypothesis that one day at 60 °C is equivalent to one month at 20 °C could be confirmed during linseed oil aging for 6 months at 20 °C and 6 days at 60 °C using the “Schaal oven stability test”. Tests were conducted with linseed oil supplemented or not with myricetin or butyl-hydroxytoluene as antioxidants. Oxid...

A new near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic method was developed for the analytical measurement of lipid oxidation in sunflower kernel paste (tahini), which was chosen as an example of a complex oilseed-based food product. The NIR spectra of sunflower tahini were acquired for the extracted fat phase (EFP) and for the intact sunflower tahini (IST) sampl...

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that cherries, especially sour cultivars, contain substantial amounts of phenolic compounds. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to (i) analyze the total phenolic compound (TPC) content and the antioxidant capacity (AC) of a large range of cultivars using the same methodology in one laboratory, and (ii) determine the p...

Vegetable oil adulteration can be defined as the addition of cheaper, inferior, harmful, or unnecessary substance(s) to oil that could affect its nature and quality. International institutions are promulgating antifraud regulations aimed at improved control of the global trade in vegetable oil by describing fraud, thereby reinforcing the need for r...

Soybean meal was adulterated with melamine with the purpose of boosting the protein content for unlawful interests. In recent years, the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technique has been widely used for guaranteeing food and feed security for its fast, nondestructive, and pollution-free characteristics. However, there are problems with using near...

The ban on using processed animal proteins in feedstuffs led the feed sector to look for other sources of protein. Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) could be considered as an important source in this regard. They are imported into Europe mainly for livestock feed. Identifying their origin is essential when labelling is missing and for fe...

In the past decade, several major food safety crises originated from problems with feed. Consequently, there is an urgent need for early detection of fraudulent adulteration and contamination in the feed chain. Strategies are presented for two specific cases, viz. adulterations of (i) soybean meal with melamine and other types of adulterants/contam...

In this study, the concept of a Local moving window along the wavelength range in vibrational spectroscopic data was used to build reduced PCA models for characterizing agro-food products and detecting the presence of unusual ingredients or contaminants in an untargeted way. For each selected wavelength window in a locally reduced calibration set,...

The objective of this work was to devise a complete procedure based on chemometrics and the use NIR spectroscopy at the entrance of a feed mill to provide early evidence of non-conformity and unusual ingredients and thus help to achieve cost-savings. The procedure was validated at laboratory level and was adapted for application at the Cargill Anim...

In the context of products from certain regions or countries being banned because of an identified or non-identified hazard, proof of geographical origin is essential with regard to feed and food safety issues. Usually, the product labeling of an affected feed lot shows origin, and the paper documentation shows traceability. Incorrect product label...

The fluorescence spectra of some olive oils were examined in their natural and oxidised state, with wavelength range emissions of 300-800 nm and 300-400 nm used as excitation radiation. The fluorescence emissions were measured and an assessment was made of the relationship between them and the main quality parameters of olive oils, such as peroxide...

The goal of this study was to find a procedure to standardize dairy milk mid-infrared spectra from different Fourier transform mid-infrared spectrophotometers (different brands or models) inside a European dairy network to create new farm-management indicators (e.g., fertility, health, feed, environmental impact) based on milk infrared spectra. Thi...

H‐NMR spectral data and H and C isotope abundances of virgin olive oils (VOOs) and their unsaponifiable fractions were analyzed by pattern recognition techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial‐least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA). The aim was to develop chemical tools for the authentication of VOOs according to thei...

This review provides an overview of the main scientific outputs of a network (Action) supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) in the field of animal science, namely the COST Action Feed for Health (FA0802). The main aims of the COST Action Feed for Health (FA0802) were: to develop an integrated and collaborative netwo...

Current and future legislation regarding the use of processed animal proteins in animal nutrition requires the availability of robust analytical methods that allow for proper implementation of corresponding legal restrictions. Near-infrared microscopy (NIRM) is a spectroscopic method that allows for the differentiation between meat and bone meal an...

Molecular biology techniques such as PCR constitute powerful tools for the determination of the taxonomic origin of bones. DNA degradation and contamination by exogenous DNA, however, jeopardise bone identification. Despite the vast array of techniques used to decontaminate bone fragments, the isolation and determination of bone DNA content are sti...