Malays. J. Anal. Sci. Volume 29 Number 4 (2025): 1516

 

Research Article

 

Preliminary analysis of standard animal gelatines through FTIR-ATR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis and pattern recognition for halal verification

 

Muhammad Zulhelmi Nazri1*, Akmal Jannah Kamal2, Siti Nor Azlina Abd Rashid1, Radhiahtul Raehan Mustafa3, Hajar Aminah A. Karim1, Muhamad Shirwan Abdullah Sani4, and Dayang Norulfairuz Abang Zaidel1,5*

 

1Innovation Centre in Agritechnology for Advanced Bioprocessing (ICA), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 84600 Pagoh, Johor, Malaysia

2Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak Branch (Mukah Campus) 96400 Mukah, Sarawak, Malaysia

3Islamic Civilization Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

4International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), KICT Building, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) 53100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

5Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: dnorulfairuz@utm.my ; mzulhelmin@utm.my

 

Received: 16 March 2025; Revised: 3 June 2025; Accepted: 26 June 2025; Published: 22 August 2025

 

Abstract

The global halal market faces increasing challenges regarding product authenticity, particularly issues of contamination, adulteration, and fraudulent trading practices across Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Authenticating halal status in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products has become crucial for ensuring compliance with Islamic dietary laws and maintaining consumer trust. While various analytical techniques, including high-perfomance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, have been employed for halal verification, there remains a need for rapid, cost-effective, and reliable analytical methods that can be applied in a standardised manner. Herein, this study presents an approach utilizing Fourier transform infrared apectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) to differentiate and authenticate the halal status of standard gelatine from fish, bovine, and porcine sources. Spectral wavenumber data acquired in the 4000 – 650 cm⁻ą region were collected and analysed using discriminant (DA) and principal component (PCA) analyses for pattern recognition and classification. The DA revealed high discriminating power, particularly in the 2000 – 1501 cm-1 region, achieving 100% accuracy in training and 83.3 – 100% in cross-validation, clearly distinguishing between halal (fish and bovine) and non-halal (porcine) standard gelatine samples. The PCA further validated these findings, with the Cumulative Variability (CV) of PCs explaining up to 99.99% of the total variance and demonstrating a clear separation of gelatine standards in biplots. The combined approach effectively established unique spectral fingerprints, enabling accurate classification of halal products. Therefore, this method provides a robust, real-time, and cost-effective tool for halal verification, with strong potential for industrial implementation and regulatory applications.

 

Keywords: animal gelatine, FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, multivariate data analysis, pattern recognition, halal verification

 

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