From Peak to Plate: News and Peer-Reviewed Content

LCGC International presents “Peak to Plate: Expert Insights in Food Analysis,” compiling the latest news articles and peer-reviewed content highlighting the utility of chromatography in food analysis, covering various chromatography and spectrometry techniques used in improving the taste, quality, and health-related benefits of the foods we eat.

Streamlined LC-MS/MS Method for Screening Unauthorized Synthetic Dyes in Children's Foods

Following 2025 FDA initiatives to ensure the safety of children's foods, researchers developed a highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to detect eight prohibited acidic and basic synthetic dyes in candies and cereals. Although no unauthorized dyes were found in the analyzed samples, the study demonstrates that robust, routine analytical screening is essential to verify labeling accuracy, maintain regulatory compliance, and protect vulnerable populations.¹

HPLC Profiling of Phenolics in Sweet Cherry Tissue

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) reveals how cherry variety, tissue type, and freezing method affect beneficial compound levels.²

Non-Targeted Screening Strategies and Challenges to Identify PFAS in Complex Food Matrices
A non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry strategy was developed to detect PFAS in food beyond the limits of conventional targeted methods.A non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry strategy was developed to detect PFAS in food beyond the limits of conventional targeted methods. Using a single extract for both approaches, data prioritization and ion mobility mass spectrometry helped identify previously unsuspected PFAS, expanding analytical coverage for food safety monitoring.³

Chromatography-Based Analysis for Smarter Plant-Based Milk Sensors

As more people choose plant-based milks like oat, almond, soy, and coconut, new challenges arise in ensuring these drinks are safe—especially in preventing accidental allergen exposure. While factory checks are standard, they don't address risks at the point of consumption. A recent study proposed a "digital nose" using AI to "smell" and verify milk quality in real-time. To calibrate these sensors, researchers used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled with solid-phase microextraction (GC-MS-SPME) as the gold-standard reference to accurately identify the unique scent profiles of each milk type.⁴

Utilizing HPLC-MS/MS to Evaluate ACP-Driven Degradation of Fenvalerate in Shiitake Mushrooms
Researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to demonstrate that atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) effectively removes up to 82.5% of toxic fenvalerate residues from shiitake mushrooms. The study identified degradation pathways like hydroxylation and ester bond cleavage. ACP offers a promising, non-thermal solution to enhance food safety and preserve mushroom quality during storage.⁵

Gas Chromatography Analysis of Fatty Acid Profiles in Plant-Based vs. Traditional Beef Burgers

Researchers utilized gas chromatography (GC) to evaluate and compare the fatty acid compositions of plant-based meat substitutes and traditional ground beef available on the market. Following homogenization and lipid extraction, the GC data revealed distinct fatty acid profiles between the two groups. The analysis demonstrated that most plant-based alternatives exhibited higher polyunsaturated fatty acid levels and more favorable nutritional indices—such as the unsaturation and hypocholesterolemic indices—compared to beef, though the researchers noted that the specific health implications rely heavily on the diverse types of oils used in each plant-based product.⁶

Boosting Untargeted Benchtop Volatilomics to the Next Level: Chiral Trapped-Headspace GC-QMS-IMS
For the characterization of complex, volatile organic compound (VOC)-rich food products, the combination of gas chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry–drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (GC-QMS-IMS) is a powerful technique, offering simultaneous detection by QMS and IMS. This hyphenation pairs characteristic drift times and soft ionization from the IMS section with specific m/z values for database substance identification from the QMS detector. A challenge so far in this approach was the typically substantially lower sensitivity of the QMS system in comparison with the IMS system. This is a limitation regarding low-to-no sample preparation, static headspace-based approaches, as the QMS section often delivered inferior signal-to-noise ratio mass spectra with low database hit rates. The present approach describes a new untargeted, trapped-headspace (THS)-GC-QMS-IMS setup for an exhaustive VOC analysis of complex food, beverage, and flavor products and allows the classification of mango cultivars in combination with chemometric data evaluation. This approach is fortified through chiral gas chromatography, where the separation of enantiomeric compounds adds significantly more useful features for machine learning approaches.⁷

Utilizing HPLC and Genomic Prediction to Standardize Pungency in Chili Pepper Breeding

Controlling the "heat" or pungency levels in chili peppers (Capsicum annuum) is a major challenge for breeders due to complex genetic inheritance. To address this, researchers are using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to precisely quantify capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin levels. By combining these accurate chemical measurements with genomic prediction (GP) models, scientists can now better predict the spice levels of offspring based on parental data.⁸

References

1. Chasse, J. Streamlined LC-MS/MS Method for Screening Unauthorized Synthetic Dyes in Children's Foods. LCGC International website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/streamlined-lc-ms-ms-method-for-screening-unauthorized-synthetic-dyes-in-children-s-foods (accessed 2026-06-05)
2. Chasse, J. HPLC Profiling of Phenolics in Sweet Cherry Tissue. LCGC International website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/hplc-profiling-phenolics-sweet-cherry-tissue (accessed 2026-06-05).
3. Dervilly, G.; Monteau, F.; Le Bizec, B. et al. Non-Targeted Screening Strategies and Challenges to Identify PFAS in Complex Food Matrices.LCGC International website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/non-targeted-screening-strategies-and-challenges-to-identify-pfas-in-complex-food-matrices (accessed 2026-06-08)
4. Chasse, J. Chromatography-Based Analysis for Smarter Plant-Based Milk Sensors. LCGC International website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/chromatography-based-analysis-for-smarter-plant-based-milk-sensors (accessed 2026-06-05)
5. Chasse, J. Utilizing HPLC-MS/MS to Evaluate ACP-Driven Degradation of Fenvalerate in Shiitake Mushrooms. LCGC International website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/utilizing-hplc-ms-ms-to-evaluate-acp-driven-degradation-of-fenvalerate-in-shiitake-mushrooms (accessed 2026-06-05).
6. Chasse, J. Gas Chromatography Analysis of Fatty Acid Profiles in Plant-Based vs. Traditional Beef Burgers. LCGC International website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/gas-chromatography-analysis-of-fatty-acid-profiles-in-plant-based-vs-traditional-beef-burgers (accessed 2026-06-05).
7. Bodenbender, L.; Rohn, S.; Sauer, S.; Jungen, M.; Weller, P. Boosting Untargeted Benchtop Volatilomics to the Next Level: Chiral Trapped-Headspace GC-QMS-IMS https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/boosting-untargeted-benchtop-volatilomics-to-the-next-level-chiral-trapped-headspace-gc-qms-ims (accessed 2026-06-08).
8. Chasse, J. Utilizing HPLC and Genomic Prediction to Standardize Pungency in Chili Pepper Breeding. LCGC International website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/utilizing-hplc-and-genomic-prediction-to-standardize-pungency-in-chili-pepper-breeding (accessed 2026-06-05).