Abstract
This study examined the usefulness of energy estimations of cooked foods using near-infrared rays. We examined 90 samples selected from the food list in the Japanese Food Guide as well as 5 samples of sweets and 5 duplicate meal samples. Energy estimated using near-infrared rays and calculated using the food table was compared with that obtained by chemical analysis. Samples were assessed using near-infrared rays without pretreatment and after being blended. The calculated data were very accurate regardless of the cooking methods or main ingredients. Most of the blended samples were underestimated by near-infrared rays, but the differences were not significant. The values obtained using near-infrared rays were overestimated for samples containing large amounts of water, or with meat, potatoes, and vegetables as the main ingredients. Apart from these samples, the differences between the data obtained using near-infrared rays for blended samples and those obtained by chemical analysis were within +20%.
