Raman spectroscopic techniques for nondestructive analysis of agri-foods: A state-of-the-art review

Background: With the growth of global imports and exports of agri-food commodities, food safety issues have received widespread attention globally. To secure public health, it is essential to develop rapid and nondestructive tools for analysis of the quality and safety of agri-food products. The emerging Raman spectroscopic techniques (RSTs) have shown noble potential on agri-foods analysis in various aspects, owing to the incomparable merits of RSTs such as fingerprint spectrum, rapid acquisition, noninvasiveness, and simple sample preparation. Scope and approach: To obtain a better comprehension of employing RSTs in agri-food industry, this current review presents the fundamentals of three RSTs including spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, Raman chemical imaging, and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for rapid and nondestructive analysis. Recent advances in their applications for the safety and quality control of agri-food products during the last five years are outlined. Finally, challenges and future perspectives of RSTs application are discussed in depth. Key findings and conclusions: RSTs have been demonstrated as effective tools for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of agri-food products. Despite the persisting limitations resulting from technical difficulties and complexity of the food sample matrix, the continuous developments in Raman systems, nanomaterials, and spectral analysis algorithms will promote these technologies from laboratory to industry.

Automated summary

Raman spectroscopic techniques have shown great potential in analyzing agri-food products rapidly and nondestructively. Despite some technical limitations, continuous advancements in Raman systems, nanomaterials, and spectral analysis algorithms are expected to promote the transition of these technologies from laboratory to industry.