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New laser tech can spot deadly fake booze without opening bottle
The system detects methanol at about 10 times below safety limits and could help customs, distilleries and food makers spot fraud.
- Scottish and Australian scientists at Adelaide University and the University of Andrews developed a laser system that detects toxic methanol in sealed bottles, offering a fast, non-destructive alternative to traditional lab testing.
- Methanol poisoning remains a serious global health problem, causing hundreds of deaths each year, yet counterfeit alcohol is often impossible to detect without opening bottles for expensive laboratory tests.
- Using a sophisticated form of sensing known as Raman spectroscopy, researchers read the unique chemical "fingerprint" of a liquid through its packaging, detecting methanol at concentrations around 10 times lower than safety limits.
- Published in the Journal of Physics: Photonics, the research is expanding to tackle wine fraud, which costs the global wine industry billions annually, along with food quality and product safety.
- Ralf Mouthaan of Adelaide University aims to move the technology into customs checkpoints, distilleries, and quality assurance facilities, stating "Our goal is to develop technology that can move out of the laboratory and into places where it can make a real difference.
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Leaning Left4Leaning Right2Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 22%
C 67%
11%
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