A new formaldehyde optical sensor: Detecting milk adulteration

•An optical sensor device for formaldehyde in solution was developed.•It is based on an optical fibre coated with a tailored polyoxometalate (POM) salt.•POM salt changed its UV–Vis spectra in contact with formaldehyde in solution.•The optical sensor showed a quantification limit of 0.6 mg L−1.•The optrode was used to detect quantitatively formaldehyde in milk samples. A sensor consisting of an optical fibre with the exposed tip coated with the polyoxometalate salt [(C4H9)4N]4H[PMo10V2O40], specially designed to be insoluble in water, which UV–Vis spectrum changed in contact with formaldehyde, is presented. The sensor limit of detection for formaldehyde was 0.2 mg L−1, and the limit of quantification was 0.6 mg L−1, which were close to the conventional spectrophotometric method values of 0.2 mg L−1 and 0.5 mg L−1, respectively, and lower than the tolerable limit for ingested food. The sensor was tested for formaldehyde quantification in milk, as its deliberate addition is a matter of concern. The results obtained analysing formaldehyde in milk samples by the optical sensor and by the conventional method were not statistically different (α = 0.05).