1. Objective

The agri-food industry increasingly needs reliable, low-cost analytical techniques to control the quality of food and food products. This need stems not only from the demands of regulatory bodies, but also from consumers' growing interest in the composition of the products they consume. Foods are now subject to detailed labelling of their major and minor constituents (artificial flavourings, sweeteners, antimicrobial agents, allergens, glucose in sugars and syrups, alcohol in wines, hydrogen peroxide and sulfites as preservatives, antibiotics in milk, glutamate, vitamins...). Analytical techniques are playing an increasingly important role in controlling raw materials, verifying product content and assessing freshness.

Numerous methods have been developed and applied to the analysis of foods, providing information on their physical and chemical characteristics,...