Modern analytical methods for the detection of food fraud and adulteration by food category

Abstract This review provides current information on the analytical methods used to identify food adulteration in the six most adulterated food categories: animal origin and seafood, oils and fats, beverages, spices and sweet foods (e.g. honey), grain‐based food, and others (organic food and dietary supplements). The analytical techniques (both conventional and emerging) used to identify adulteration in these six food categories involve sensory, physicochemical, DNA ‐based, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, and have been combined with chemometrics, making these techniques more convenient and effective for the analysis of a broad variety of food products. Despite recent advances, the need remains for suitably sensitive and widely applicable methodologies that encompass all the various aspects of food adulteration. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry