Mobile guardians: Detection of food fraud with portable spectroscopy methods for enhanced food authenticity assurance

It is often said that “you are what you eat”, and whether this is said in this decade or in 2050 the choices we make about the food we consume can alter our biology. Therefore, knowing exactly what you eat is important for one to maintain a healthy balanced diet. However, as the food industry grows in complexity and struggles to meet the demand of a rapidly increasing population, it is likely that food fraud will pose a much larger threat to the future safety of food industries and consumers. Thus, it is necessary to employ and develop analytical techniques such as infrared and Raman spectroscopy as mobile ‘Capable Guardians’ to reduce this potential risk. Recent advancements in portable spectroscopic instrumentation which can provide rapid on-site measurements show promise, and may have a pivotal role to play in the ongoing saga of food fraud and contamination. Therefore, the objective of this review is to present a comprehensive overview of food fraud and contamination, highlighting the common analytical methods employed for their assessment, with a specific emphasis on the utility of portable handheld spectroscopic instrumentation which in the future can offer guardianship and thus ensure personalised food security.