VISUALIZATION OF THE MINERAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERN IN BREADS BY PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS

Seven minerals (Al, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mg, Ca and K) were determined by atomi c absorption spectrometry in 13 different types of Belgian bread and b read products. Principal component analysis is used as a feature reduc tion method to group the breads according to their mineral composition and to uncover the hidden relationships in the data table. A distinct ion between a group of white bread and a group of whole meal bread cou ld be made along principal component 1 (PC1). Along PC2 and PC3, devia ting values were found for currant-bread and milk bread as a result of a high Al and a high Ca content, respectively.