PROGRAM - 8th International Symposium on RECENT ADVANCES IN FOOD ANALYSIS

Significance of the topic

Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA) is a major international symposium uniting analytical chemists, food scientists, regulators and industry experts. By showcasing state-of-the-art methods for ensuring food safety, authenticity and quality, RAFA fosters innovation and collaboration to meet global challenges in food control.

Objectives and overview

RAFA 2017 aimed to:

• Present novel analytical technologies and workflows
• Share best practices from EU Reference Laboratories and international bodies
• Promote standardization and harmonization of methods
• Strengthen academic-industry-regulator partnerships
• Train early-stage researchers and end-users

The four-day program featured plenary lectures, oral sessions grouped by themes (food authenticity, contaminants, residues, toxins, omics, portable sensors), hands-on workshops, vendor seminars, poster displays and satellite events (FoodIntegrity, METROFOOD-RI).

Methodologies and instrumentation

Key techniques presented included:

• Chromatography-mass spectrometry: UHPLC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, LC-QTOF, Orbitrap, GC×GC-TOF, LC-HRMS
• Ion mobility spectrometry for enhanced separation
• NMR and vibrational spectroscopy (Raman, IR), including portable and handheld devices
• Ambient MS approaches (REIMS, DART, LDTD, DESI)
• Solid-phase microextraction (SPME), vacuum-assisted sorbent extraction (VASE), QuEChERS, enzymatic clean-up
• High-throughput bioanalytical assays (ELISA, lateral flow, biosensors, DNA-based LAMP, dPCR)
• Smartphone-based analyzers and lab-on-a-disc platforms for field testing
• Metabolomics, lipidomics and genomics via targeted and non-targeted workflows

Main highlights and discussion

Plenary talks addressed risk assessment priorities, policy drivers and personalised food analysis. Workshops demonstrated non-targeted fingerprinting for food fraud and a multidisciplinary safety assessment platform covering toxins, allergens and contaminants. EU Reference Laboratory sessions reviewed a decade of harmonization efforts for mycotoxins, pesticide residues, dioxins, biotoxins and food contact materials. Interactive seminars and case studies showed rapid in-field screening of fraud, human biomonitoring applications and novel sensor arrays.

Benefits and practical applications

RAFA 2017 outcomes support:

• Implementation of robust routine and confirmatory methods in QA/QC laboratories
• Uptake of portable sensors and smartphone diagnostics for on-site testing
• Adoption of harmonized protocols and proficiency testing for regulatory monitoring
• Data-driven approaches (omics, big data) to anticipate emerging threats

Future trends and opportunities

Emerging directions include:

• Expanded use of ambient and portable MS technologies for real-time analysis
• Integration of omics datasets with machine learning for predictive risk models
• Further miniaturization and automation of sample preparation
• Development of comprehensive, open‐access knowledge bases for food integrity
• Growth of smartphone and lab-on-a-chip platforms for citizen science and supply-chain transparency

Conclusion

RAFA 2017 demonstrated that multidisciplinary collaboration and advanced analytical tools are critical to safeguarding food systems. The symposium forged new partnerships, highlighted best practices and set the stage for next-generation food analysis capable of addressing evolving safety, authenticity and quality challenges worldwide.

Budoucí trendy a možnosti využití byly představeny v detailech během závěrečných bloků, uzavírajících RAFA 2017 a směřujících k dalšímu rozvoji analytické chemie ve službách potravinového sektoru.

Použitá instrumentace

Key instruments and platforms featured:

• UHPLC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, LC-QTOF, Orbitrap, GC×GC-TOF
• Ion mobility spectrometers
• NMR spectrometers, FT-Raman, FT-IR
• REIMS, DART, LDTD ambient MS sources
• SPME, VASE, QuEChERS and Automated SPE systems
• Lab-on-a-disc and smartphone-based analyzers