Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
For use in the feed, forage, and pet food industries
NIR spectroscopy is a powerful and practical technique that can measure multiple parameters of interest in animal food quality control, such as macronutrients, energy components, and contaminants. NIR spectroscopy can also monitor the natural variation in raw materials and ensure the consistency and accuracy of finished feeds. NIR spectroscopy is fast, non-invasive, and requires little or no sample preparation, making it ideal for production and quality teams at manufacturing plants.
Click below to learn more about these industries and the use of NIR spectroscopy in them.
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Discover the intricate challenges faced by the industry in processing and manufacturing animal feed, forage, and pet food.
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Are you interested in the practical application of NIR spectroscopy? We’ve collected examples of assays and their results for your review.
Want to learn more about the revolutionary benefits of NIR spectroscopy?
Near-infrared spectroscopy is a cutting-edge monitoring tool that offers speed, accuracy, and efficiency in analyzing animal food products. Review our Insight pages to discover how NIR spectroscopy can revolutionize the entire animal food manufacturing process, ensuring optimal nutritional value and quality control.
Have More Questions?
Spectroscopy is defined as the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation. It originated from visible light being dispersed through a prism according to wavelength. Evolution of spectroscopy as a concept has expanded to include any interaction with radiative energy as a function of wavelength or frequency.
Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy uses the region from 780 nm to 2500 nm in the electromagnetic spectrum and is based on molecular overtones and combination vibrations, creating a “fingerprint” of the sample. NIR spectra can be collected using either transmission (light passes through the sample before collection by the detector and in most cases a liquid) or reflectance (light reflects off the sample and is collected by the detector).
Most NIR spectrometers consist of a light source, a detector, and a dispersive element (usually a diffraction grating) to allow the collection of light intensity at different wavelengths over time.
NIR spectroscopy is used in numerous verticals in the Feed & Forage and Pet Food industries for testing of raw materials, intermediates, and finished products. Depending on the type of instrument, it can be used as a portable handheld mobile tool, a laboratory instrument, or a process control tool to optimize the manufacturing process and reduce waste.
Variation of natural products presents an inherent quality control challenge in not only Feed & Forage, but across the entire agricultural industry. NIR spectroscopy can be used for initial raw material identification and quantification of parameters of interest. Such information is immensely useful for both buyers and sellers of Feed & Forage products as well for scientists who use feed formation for nutritional optimization of final products.
NIR spectrometers offer a fast, non-invasive, and cost-effective method for testing parameters of interest in numerous industries. There is little if any sample preparation required and no sample destruction. No chemicals or solvents are required for use. While NIR spectroscopy requires the creation of calibration models using chemometrics to correlate spectra to reference values, once these models are constructed the benefits are enormous. Multiple parameters can be measured with a single scan after models are created.
Reference testing in the food and beverage industries often consists of expensive and time-consuming tests like HPLC and wet chemistry tests. These tests require skilled technicians and if not performed on-site, the results can take a week or longer to obtain. Performing such tests in a real-time process setting is often impractical if not impossible. Advances in the technology of NIR spectrometers and the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative have led to the implementation of NIR spectroscopy as a real-time process control tool.