Detection of adulteration in cupuaçu pulp using spectroscopy in the infrared in conjunction with multivariate techniques.

This study applied Near Infrared (NIR) and Mid Infrared (MIR) Spectroscopy combined with chemometrics to detect and quantify adulteration in cupuaçu pulp. A total of 66 authentic samples, 198 adulterated with sucrose solution (15, 30, and 45 % w/w), and 25 commercial samples were analyzed. Classification models showed high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, with MIR achieving 100 % accuracy in validation. For quantification, MIR performed best, with an R-value of 0.96. Adulteration was detected in over 50 % of commercial samples, with levels ranging from 15.28 % to 34.45 %. The results confirm that NIR and MIR are effective tools for identifying and quantifying cupuaçu pulp adulteration, demonstrating their potential for quality control applications.