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Recent Advances in Food Analysis, 2nd Edition
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Recent Advances in Food Analysis, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Analytical Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2176

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rosalía López-Ruiz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Interests: chromatography; high-resolution mass spectrometry; mass spectrometry; pesticides; metabolites; food; biological fluids; environment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Arrebola

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Interests: pesticides; gas chromatography; food; environmental samples; contaminants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jesus Marin Saez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Interests: pesticides; chromatography; mass spectrometry; food; contaminants; drugs; metabolites biological fluids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to highlighting the most recent advances and trends in the field of food analysis. The analysis of contaminants as drugs, pesticides, toxins, and others is essential to ensure food safety and security. In addition, the analysis of food composition in terms of nutritional content and bioactive compounds is also of interest, providing information about food properties and avoiding food frauds. This Special Issue will focus on chromatographic techniques coupled to both classic detectors as ultraviolet (UV) or modern detectors such as mass spectrometry (MS), although other techniques may be considered.

The aim of the current Special Issue is to cover emerging and promising research trends within all sectors of food analysis. Reviews of recent literature and original research papers are welcome. Areas to be covered may include the following: the analysis of food products to ensure food safety; determination of pesticides, metabolites, or other contaminants; analysis of food composition, natural products, phenolic compounds, and others; and food frauds and adulterations.

We warmly welcome our colleagues to submit their original contributions to this Special Issue in order to provide significant updates that are appealing to readers.

Dr. Rosalía López-Ruiz
Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Arrebola
Dr. Jesus Marin Saez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food
  • contaminants
  • bioactive compounds
  • chromatography
  • detection
  • analytical techniques
  • analysis

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

35 pages, 2789 KB  
Article
Development and Characterization of a Plant-Based Chicken Nugget Analogue Based on Extruded Sacha Inchi Cake, Textured Soy Protein, and Wheat Gluten
by Jersy J. Asto-Mercado, Carlos Elías-Peñafiel, Bettit Salvá-Ruíz and Christian R. Encina-Zelada
Molecules 2026, 31(10), 1601; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31101601 - 10 May 2026
Viewed by 379
Abstract
This study developed a chicken nugget analogue formulated with hydrated textured soy protein (HTSP), a meat analogue based on extruded Sacha Inchi cake (MASI), and hydrated gluten (HWG). Instrumental texture analysis, cooking loss and yield, water activity (aw), pH, and color [...] Read more.
This study developed a chicken nugget analogue formulated with hydrated textured soy protein (HTSP), a meat analogue based on extruded Sacha Inchi cake (MASI), and hydrated gluten (HWG). Instrumental texture analysis, cooking loss and yield, water activity (aw), pH, and color measurements were used to evaluate the effects of these protein sources. An optimal formulation was established using a D-optimal mixture design combined with a desirability function, aiming to maximize the springiness index (0.69) and minimize the hue angle (83.81 °), with a commercial chicken nugget (SF) used as reference. The optimal blend (HTSP 20.75%, MASI 46.25%, and HWG 33%) achieved a desirability value of 0.71 and was experimentally validated within a 95% confidence interval. Physicochemical characterization of the optimal formulation (OF) showed moisture content of 56.04%, protein content of 12.04%, fat content of 4.46%, and carbohydrate content of 25.54%. The OF exhibited low cooking loss (6.82%), high yield (93.18%), and favorable textural properties, including hardness (6.11 N), cohesiveness (0.20), springiness index (0.33), and chewiness index (0.40 N). Color parameters were L* 68.02, a* 1.33, b* 24.35, and a hue angle of 86.87°. Compared with commercial chicken nuggets, the OF showed similar physical and nutritional characteristics but lower fat content. Sensory evaluation using check-all-that-apply (CATA) and hedonic tests (n = 70 panelists) indicated that the commercial nugget (SF) had the highest flavor and overall acceptability but was primarily associated with greasy and salty attributes. The OF nugget was positively perceived for its crispiness and breading adhesion, although a slight bitterness was reported. In contrast, the commercial vegan nugget (FF) showed the lowest acceptability due to its dry texture and low juiciness. Overall, the results highlight the potential of plant-based protein blends for developing meat analogues; however, further optimization of flavor and aroma is required. In addition, compliance with regulatory requirements for labeling, allergen disclosure, and novel-ingredient disclosure remains essential for market entry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Food Analysis, 2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 973 KB  
Article
Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Activity and Caffeine as Chemical Markers for Differentiating Panamanian Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora
by Mariel Monrroy, Onix Arauz and José Renán García
Molecules 2026, 31(9), 1534; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31091534 - 5 May 2026
Viewed by 414
Abstract
Chemical differentiation of coffee species is essential for quality control, authenticity verification, and the prevention of mislabeling in the coffee industry. This is particularly relevant in Panama, a recognized producer of specialty coffees such as Geisha, where studies on chemical characterization remain limited. [...] Read more.
Chemical differentiation of coffee species is essential for quality control, authenticity verification, and the prevention of mislabeling in the coffee industry. This is particularly relevant in Panama, a recognized producer of specialty coffees such as Geisha, where studies on chemical characterization remain limited. This study investigated the phenolic composition, antioxidant activity, and caffeine content of roasted coffee as potential chemical markers for differentiating Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora. Ultrasound-assisted hydroethanolic extraction was optimized using the response surface methodology, with temperature, ethanol concentration, and extraction time as the experimental variables. The optimized extraction parameters were established at 75 °C, 44% ethanol, and 25 min, resulting in high recovery of the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH assays). Under these conditions, C. canephora samples obtained higher levels of phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and caffeine content than C. arabica. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significant associations among phenolic compounds, caffeine content, and antioxidant activity. PCA explained 90.5% of the total variance and clearly discriminated between the two species, mainly based on differences in caffeine content and antioxidant activity. HCA confirmed this classification and revealed subgroups within C. arabica, particularly among the Geisha varieties. PLS-DA achieved complete separation between species, with zero classification error under cross-validation. These results indicated that combined chemical and multivariate approaches can be used to differentiate and assess the authenticity of coffee, particularly in underexplored production regions such as Panama. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Food Analysis, 2nd Edition)
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Graphical abstract

13 pages, 611 KB  
Article
Acrylamide Determination in Infant Formulas: A New Extraction Method
by Sumeyra Sevim, Rosalia Lopez-Ruiz and Antonia Garrido-Frenich
Molecules 2025, 30(24), 4718; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30244718 - 9 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 999
Abstract
Infant formulas are specialized foods designed for babies and toddlers who cannot be exclusively breastfed. However, acrylamide (AA) may form during the thermal processing involved in their production. Although chromatographic techniques offer high sensitivity and detection capability for AA analysis, their application remains [...] Read more.
Infant formulas are specialized foods designed for babies and toddlers who cannot be exclusively breastfed. However, acrylamide (AA) may form during the thermal processing involved in their production. Although chromatographic techniques offer high sensitivity and detection capability for AA analysis, their application remains limited due to the complexity of diverse food matrices, high operating costs, time requirements, and environmental concerns. A new validated liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) protocol for AA detection in infant formula was developed using sequential hydration, acetonitrile (ACN) precipitation, and dual-sorbent clean-up, which minimized matrix effects and ensured clarity and high reproducibility. The validated method demonstrated excellent linearity (R2 = 0.9985, solvent-based; 0.9903, matrix-based), a pronounced matrix effect (−67%), satisfactory sensitivity (limit of detection, LOD: 10 µg/kg; limit of quantification, LOQ: 20 µg/kg), and consistent recovery (82–99%) with less than 15% variation. AA analysis was performed on 31 infant formula samples. The highest individual AA level (268.2 µg/kg) was detected in an amino acid-based formula intended for infants under one year of age while the highest mean concentration was found in cereal-based samples (188.1 ± 100.8 µg/kg), followed by goat’s milk-based (52.7 ± 25.67), plant-based (48.8 ± 31.68), and cow’s milk-based (27.5 ± 29.62) formulas (p < 0.001). The wide variability in AA concentrations among infant formulas can be attributed to differences in formulation, ingredient composition, manufacturing processes, and analytical methodologies. These findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring of AA levels in infant foods to ensure their safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Food Analysis, 2nd Edition)
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