Quality Control in Foods, State of the Art and Prospects

Abstract

Quality control (QC) of food includes control of authenticity, origin, properties or attributes, composition, and safety involving all steps of the global supply chain – from the raw material up to the final product sold on the supermarket shelf. Despite the great concern regarding their quality, these products are currently monitored and certified by means of paper documentation, some targeted analysis, and sensory properties. This article encompasses a revision on the instrumental analytical techniques, methods, and systems used in food QC together with their main applications and a brief historical perspective on food analysis, together with a deep revision on the current state of art of modern analytical instruments, methodologies, and applications in the QC of food in order to establish Quo Vadis QC of foods. This article also discusses the present and future challenges in QC of food, the need for faster techniques, the prospect of advanced imaging techniques, and the application of ‘omic’ in food QC (including metabolomics, proteomics, etc.)