Review of the use of biosensors as analytical tools in the food and drink industries

The food and drink industries need rapid and affordable methods to assure the quality of products and process control, where the use of analytical methods such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or specific enzymatic methods may be costly or laborious. Application of the biosensor technique in the field of food processing and quality control is promising. Biosensors offer advantages as alternatives to conventional methods due to their inherent specificity, simplicity and quick response. This article presents a review about the potential application of biosensor technology in drink and food industries, its current situation and potential. Some biosensors recently described in the literature are also listed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.