The laboratory is equipped with optical spectroscopy-based measurement systems such as Raman, Middle and Near Infrared (FTIR), UV-VIS and Fluorescence spectroscopy. The application of such techniques in the food field represents an interesting novelty, both for the possibility to be applied directly to the analysis matrix (whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form) and for the chemical fingerprint of the sample that these techniques can provide.

The non-destructive nature of such techniques allows applications to detect and identify contaminants or particular chemical species both in organic matrices and on surfaces of industrial interest.

The laboratory has two spectrophotometers for medium and near-infrared Fourier transform, equipped with a microscope and motorised micro-stages for surface chemical imaging. A high-pass optical gas cell (6 m) is present for trace gas components analysis. There are also four micro-Raman spectrometers with various excitation laser sources (455 nm, 532 nm, 633 nm, 780 nm and 1064 nm), also equipped with a motorised stage for microanalysis, that can be coupled with gas cells. UV-VIS and fluorescence spectrophotometers are used to quantify food toxins.