Alain Clément, Ph. D.
My job is mainly to develop rapid methods of food characterization, including authentication (to prevent food fraud). We use optical / photonic devices to determine the chemical composition of foods, their color, their authenticity. We have special expertise in fluorescence measurement, which provides information on the composition of antioxidants and helps classify foods. We assemble our own instruments for fluorescence measurements of liquids or solids. We also use Near Infrared, Infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Chemometrics is used to develop our own models.
Current research and/or projects
We are currently studying our new device: SpectrAAC-2. It measures the fluorescence optical fingerprints of food for characterization purposes such as authentication, the study of the impact of food processing methods on quality, and the state of oxidation (rancidity). Making sure that different copies of the instrument give the same response requires laboratory testing. We first create databases, then we define models by use chemometrics and finally we compare instruments response.
We work on edible insects, quantum dots, and vegetable oils.