Is it possible to distinguish Bellota Iberico hams from its imitators?

This is a question that seemed impossible to resolve until now. Changes in the labeling of Iberian ham were encouraged to make the origin of the piece clear to the consumer and protect the producer, guaranteeing the purity and veracity of its items.

However, there is already a technique that will distinguish between an iberico bellota ham from the rest of its imitators. According to an article recently published in La Vanguardia, researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the University of Córdoba had developed a system to evaluate foods, including ham, and preventing from fraud.

Artificial Intelligence reaches the gastronomic world

This system is based on giving a new approach to one of the most common machines in all laboratories for chemical analysis: we are talking about a gas chromatography-tandem mobility spectrometer equipment.

How? Well, to be clear, we would say that this device is being trained (thanks to Artificial Intelligence) with samples of known categories. It knows how to detect and interpret them from the aroma that emerges from a needle previously inserted in the ham under study. With this, the verification process will be speeded up, guaranteeing a 100% error-free result.

The finding has already been published in the Sensor journal and the project has already expanded to the technology transfer office of the University of Córdoba and the Junta de Andalucía, studying its possible application to oil mills, among other foods.

How about the analysis of samples today?

Today, quality analysis is usually done by sensory evaluation of the aromas of the pieces to be analyzed by experts. However, these experts are limited and are sometimes overwhelmed, which is why the implementation of this system would be a great advance.

How will the process be carried out?

Well, according to the article cited, it is detailed to take a sample. It would only be necessary to prick the ham with a needle that would then be placed in a vial. From there, it would be sent to the laboratory that would process the data and obtain a report in a few minutes.

It is expected to use of this analysis will be very useful for setting prices throughout the entire distribution chain and obviously so that the consumer is not deceived with regard to ham and other delicacies.

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