Food safety: how analytical chemists ensure it

Nowadays, there is an increasing number of consumer concerns related to food safety. Moreover, as a result of the variety of contaminants and residues in food, which can be hazardous to human health, there is a rising demand for analytical methods that allow the reliable identification and quantification of these high-risk substances. The use of powerful mass spectrometric analysers coupled to chromatographic techniques plays an important role to fulfil these requirements. Thus, the use of generic extraction methods combined with these techniques has emerged as an interesting alternative to conventional analytical methods to determine a wide range of compounds in different type of matrices, as well as the identification of non-target analytes when high resolution mass spectrometry is utilised. This article covers current trends in food safety that analytical chemists are working on, outlining the potential directions in this field.