Currently, the combination of fingerprinting methodology and environmentally friendly and economical analytical instrumentation is becoming increasingly relevant in the food sector. In this study, a highly versatile portable analyser based on Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) obtained fingerprints of edible vegetable oils (sunflower and olive oils), and the capability of such fingerprints (obtained quickly, reliably and without any sample treatment) to discriminate/classify the analysed samples was evaluated. After data treatment, not only unsupervised pattern recognition techniques (as HCA and PCA), but also supervised pattern recognition techniques (such as SVM, kNN and SIMCA), showed that the main effect on discrimination/classification was associated with those regions of the Raman fingerprint related to free fatty acid content, especially oleic and linoleic acid. These facts allowed the discernment of the original raw material used in the oil’s production. In all the models established, reliable qualimetric parameters were obtained.

An important problem in the olive sector is the occasional mismatch of results obtained by different tasting panels when the same olive oil sample is analysed. These discrepancies could be minimised by using reference materials (RM) for taster training. A comprehensive protocol based on the combined use of sensory and instrumental analysis for the certification of olive oil batches as RMs, developed within the framework of the project 'Operational Group INTERPANEL', is proposed. Similarity indices (R², cosθ and NEAR) applied on GC-MS fingerprints, allow a successful homogeneity and stability assessment of produced batches. Furthermore, the use of robust statistics combined with a set of instructions developed to remove outliers were applied with excellent results on sensory data set provided by supra-panel composed by more than 100 qualified tasters. This work is the first to provide a comprehensive protocol for certification of real olive oil samples as RM for sensory analysis.

Brandy de Jerez is a unique spirit produced in Southern Spain under Protected Geographical Indication “Brandy de Jerez” (PGI). Two key factors for the production of quality brandies are the original wine spirit and its aging process. They are significantly conditioned by specific variables related to the base wine and the distillation method employed to produce the wine spirit used to obtain a finally aged brandy. This final beverage is therefore strongly influenced by its production process. The chromatographic instrumental fingerprints (obtained by GC FID) of the major volatile fraction of a series of brandies have been examined by applying a chemometric approach based on unsupervised (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis) and supervised pattern recognition tools (partial least squares–discriminant analysis and support vector machine). This approach was able to identify the fermentation conditions of the original wine, the distillation method used to produce the wine spirit, and the aging process as the most influential factors on the volatile profile.