Analysis of fat and dry matter in capelin by near infrared transmission spectroscopy

Near infrared (NIR) transmission spectroscopy can be used for rapid and acc urate analysis of chemical constituents in capelin. The NIR spectrum in the region 850-1050 nm was used to predict fat and dry matter in whole minced capelin. The third and first principal component of the multivariate data a nalysis of the NIR spectra indicated three main different areas, indicating changes in the samples. Best performance was achieved when the calibration model was split into three different areas, depending on the changed biolo gy of the samples: one for prespawning capelin (>12 % fat); another for the spawning capelin (12-5 % fat); and a third one for the post-spawning capel in (6-0 % fat). The standard error for prediction (SEP) of fat was less tha n 0.25 %, and the correlation between the measured and predicted values fro m NIR analysis was >0.98. The SEP of dry matter was less than 0.5 %, and th e correlation between the measured and predicted values from NIR analysis w as >0.93.