PROGRAM - 10th International Symposium on RAFA 2022

Importance of the Topic

Food analysis is a cornerstone of public health, quality assurance and regulatory compliance. Rapid advances in instrumentation and data science enable more sensitive, selective and high-throughput measurements—critical for detecting contaminants, verifying authenticity and ensuring nutritional labeling across complex supply chains.

Objectives and Overview of the Symposium

The 10th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA 2022) convened experts from academia, government and industry in Prague, Czech Republic (September 6–9, 2022). Organized by UCT Prague and Wageningen Food Safety Research under the auspices of the Czech Minister of Agriculture, the meeting aimed to:

• Share novel analytical strategies and best practices
• Highlight challenges in contaminants, authenticity and omics-based approaches
• Foster collaboration across European reference laboratories and research infrastructures
• Demonstrate vendor innovations and hands-on workshops

Methodology and Instrumentation

The symposium combined pre-workshops, parallel oral sessions, vendor seminars, interactive tutorials and poster sessions. Key elements included:

• Workshops on vibrational spectroscopy, chemometrics and European research collaboration
• Vendor presentations of emerging GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, TOF-MS and portable sensor technologies
• Plenary lectures on unknown adulteration screening, climate impacts and pandemic lessons
• Oral sessions covering reference lab proficiency, sensors, food contaminants, authenticity, residue analysis and omics
• Hands-on tutorials on data quality, smart data fusion and chemometric model validation

Used Instrumentation

A diverse array of analytical platforms and tools was featured:

• Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectrometers with chemometric software
• Handheld laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and portable LAMP diagnostics
• Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and comprehensive GC×GC-TOFMS
• LC-MS/MS and high-resolution MS for multi-residue and non-target screening
• Proton transfer reaction-MS (PTR-MS) for real-time volatile profiling
• Solid-phase microextraction (SPME), paper microfluidics and coated blade spray sampling
• Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry for origin and authenticity studies

Main Highlights and Discussion

Sessions emphasized:

• Experience and challenges in the EU reference laboratory network and proficiency tests
• Sensors and portable solutions for on-site contaminant and fraud screening
• Innovative sample preparation workflows and green extraction methods
• Data science and AI-driven chemometrics for authentication and metabolomics
• Food safety in circular economy contexts (PFAS, microplastics, recycled materials)
• Omics approaches linking food composition to health outcomes and microbiome interactions

Benefits and Practical Applications

RAFA 2022 facilitated:

• Standardization of analytical protocols and method harmonization across labs
• Adoption of portable and rapid screening tools for industry and regulators
• Integration of advanced data handling and machine learning into QC workflows
• Strengthened collaborations for EU research funding (Horizon Europe, EIT Food)

Future Trends and Possibilities of Use

Emerging directions include:

• Real-time process monitoring using IoT-enabled sensors and remote data analytics
• Expanded use of AI and digital twins for predictive food safety and quality control
• Metrology-driven measurement traceability via research infrastructures like METROFOOD-RI
• Greater focus on sustainable, circular-economy feed and food production
• Non-targeted omics workflows to uncover novel biomarkers of authenticity and safety

Conclusion

RAFA 2022 successfully showcased state-of-the-art analytical solutions, fostered multidisciplinary dialogue and laid a roadmap for future collaboration. The shared insights will accelerate adoption of smarter, sustainable and robust food analysis methods across research, regulation and industry.