Special issue information
Any product intended for human consumption needs to be rigorously tested, and because foodstuffs are ingested, the testing is often especially crucial to prevent any potential health issues. Thus, food analysis is a very important branch of analytical chemistry, as it provides information about the chemical composition, processing, quality control, and contamination of foodstuffs, ensuring compliance with food and trade laws. For this reason, it impacts both the economic and medical aspects of modern societies. The development of analytical methods in food matrices, as well as the understanding of how the food matrix influences nutrients’ bioaccessibility, has always been difficult due to the large variety of their physicochemical properties. In terms of the techniques that are used to name a few common examples, the range of instruments includes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography (GC), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The choice of technique(s) depends on what foodstuff is being analyzed, what is being analyzed within the foodstuff, and the reasons for the analysis, which can change analyte structure and extraction efficiencies because of different processing procedures throughout preparation and distribution.
Furthermore, the multiplexing trend, which means the simultaneous detection of multiple analytes at the same time, requires the development of more appropriate sample preparation methods, as well as instruments that take into account such factors as sustainability, green chemistry, and operator intervention.
This Special Issue is open to submissions that explore the development of analytical methods in the field of food analysis, which also includes topics such as in vitro digestion and nanotechnology in food safety and quality assessment. Original works and reviews are welcomed.
Keywords
• analytical methods
• food security
• mass spectrometry
• raman spectroscopy
• nmr spectroscopy
• chromatography
• solid-phase microextraction
• sampling and sample preparation
• nanomaterials in diagnostics
• green chemistry
• in vitro digestion
• metabolomics
