Rapid assessment of physico-chemical properties of gelatine using near infrared spectroscopy

The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for rapid assessment of the Bloom value, viscosity, pH and moisture content of commercial edible gelatines. NIR spectra from both dry gelatine samples and freshly made gels (matured for 30 min) were calibrated against the four parameters. The lowest prediction errors for Bloom value and pH were obtained from the gel spectra, while dry gelatine spectra provided the lowest prediction errors for viscosity and moisture content. However, all four parameters could be predicted from dry gelatine spectra with cross-validated correlation coefficients between 0.80 and 0.86. All calibration models gave correlation coefficients in the region 0.80–0.92.