Master’s Examination Committee:

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is a simple, rapid, and reliable technique that has been widely researched and applied for analysis of food components, which can identify types of chemical bonds in a molecule by producing an infrared absorption spectrum that is like a molecular "fingerprint". FTIR combined with chemometrics, including SIMCA and PLS, makes it a strong technique to identify unknown materials, determine the quality or consistency of a sample, and determine the amount of components in a mixture. The world snack food market reached an estimated $66 billion in 2003, with the United States accounting for about a third of it. However the sensor devices currently available are not suitable in a food processing operation. There is an urging demand for rapid, high through-put, and real-time instruments for the food industry. The objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of infrared systems combined with chemometri