Applications of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) in the field of foodomics

Several new and innovative applications of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and related technologies in the field of foodomics have emerged in the last decade. Among these are the assessment of food freshness or the degree of spoilage of muscle food products, the determination of the level of odorants in wine responsible for the "off flavor", the detection of traces of harmful chemicals and drug residues in food products, classification of olive oil grades and detection of adulteration of agricultural products, detection of pathogenic micro-organisms or toxins and other applications. In view of the rapid response, high sensitivity, simplicity and low price of analysis by IMS it is reasonable to predict that its utilization in food quality and food safety will increase in the following years. This work presents a review of the advances that have been made in the last few years and demonstrates the potential of the technique in the field of foodomics. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.