Monitoring the composition, authenticity and quality dynamics of commercially available Nigerian fat-filled milk powders under inclement conditions using NIRS, chemometrics, packaging and microbiological parameters.

Fat-filled milk powders (FMP) are inexpensive milk alternatives predominantly exported to developing countries to satisfy growing demands for dairy proteins. Harsh climatic and sanitary conditions, poor border controls and relatively long periods for distribution and storage enhance the inherent vulnerability of FMP to fraud and stability. Rapid, low-cost methods are needed for extensive routine authentication of FMP products. This study investigated, for the first time, the sample integrity and the quality dynamics of 7 Nigerian FMP brands stored for 7 weeks at 40 °C. The prominent melamine and urea absorption peaks were absent, but protein contents were below the permitted limit. The peak absorbance of the OH functional group increased while the tryptophan contents decreased with storage time. Multiclass analyses differentiated the fresh FMP brands from one another, and from those that were aged. Robust interval-PLS predictions obtained for storage time may be excellent indicators of FMP freshness and stability.