5. Conclusion and outlook

After several years of intensive research at CRA-W, we can confirm that PIR imaging is an advantageous analytical tool for detecting and quantifying the presence of low levels of animal meal in compound foods. This technique enables rapid detection, and can be applied to the simultaneous detection of a large number of ingredients of animal origin, as well as plant or mineral origin. PIR imaging is part of the new generation of instruments available to analysts, and is set for rapid expansion. It is proving to be the technique of choice in the development of methods for detecting contaminants, testing the homogeneity of mixtures, detecting various defects and studying the distribution of a compound in a complex matrix for agri-food products such as animal and human meals, cereals and seeds (seed-to-seed measurement), as well as spice mixtures.