Evaluation of the potential of FTIR and chemometrics for separation between defective and non-defective coffees

The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for the discrimination of defective and non-defective coffee beans. Defective (black, immature and sour) and non-defective Arabica coffee beans were submitted to FTIR analysis by transmittance readings employing KBr discs and reflectance readings employing attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and diffuse reflectance (DR) accessories. Multivariate statistical analysis (PCA, clusters) was performed in order to verify the possibility of discrimination between defective and non-defective coffee samples. A clear separation between defective and non-defective coffee beans was observed, based on both PCA and cluster analysis of the reflectance spectra (ATR and DR accessories) and of the first derivatives of the transmittance spectra (KBr discs). Such results indicate that FTIR analysis has the potential for the development of a fast and reliable analytical methodology for the discrimination between defective and non-defective coffee beans.