Using Duetta to Detect Saffron Adulteration

Saffron is a target for adulteration due to its high price. Other compounds can be added, such as minerals, oils or synthetic colorants. The two in one Duetta spectrometer was used to rapidly acquire Excitation Emission spectra for different saffron samples from different suppliers. The comparison of emission profiles points out the presence of the main components of saffron: Crocin and Safranal, but shows also some difference that can be due to external components. EEMs can be a tool to differentiate visually, and easily, bad quality samples compared to a reference. In parallel, mixture series were prepared using curcumin, a common adulterant at different percentages to assess the sensitivity of the instrument to detect adulteration of saffron. The results confirm the possibility to quantitatively predict the level of adulteration of saffron with curcumin.