However, the present study is a novel study on food applications which
has made use of LIBS for ash analysis in flour samples. The results of the
study are very promising for food industry because conventional ash
analysis method is both expensive and time consuming. The developed
method is reliable, rapid, economical and in-situ, which makes it very
appealing for food industry. Ashing is not only for analysis of total mineral
content but also for first step sample preparation before specific element
analysis. However, dry ashing procedure is not applicable for
volatile trace elements analysis such as As, Hg and sometimes Fe element
due to high temperature [24]. LIBS provides data on both ash content
and mineral composition including the trace elements. Ash analysis
has a crucial role for understanding the milling performance of flour
(grade of flour) and the type of wheat, which makes it indispensable
for the manufacturers. Besides, ash content is a quality control parameter
for many other food products such as meat, fruit juices, tea, and
cheese. In these foods, ash content indicates the mineral content and
saltiness of the food and determines the physicochemical properties of
it. Consequently, ash analysis by LIBS can be a premise method for
other food products if the homogeneity problem of sample and standard
sample preparation difficulties are overcome [25,26].