The Promise of Non‑Targeted HRMS in Food Fraud Detection

The promise of non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is considerable: rather than looking for specific known adulterants, these approaches capture a comprehensive chemical fingerprint of a sample, in principle allowing the detection of unexpected or previously unknown fraud markers. This has the potential to be genuinely transformative for a field that has historically been one step behind fraudsters. However, the panel examine the practical realities of implementing these workflows at scale, including the substantial demands they place on data storage, processing power, and the bioinformatics expertise required to extract meaningful insights from extraordinarily complex data sets. They discuss whether the technology is yet mature enough for routine deployment in regulatory and industry laboratories, where it is adding genuine value, and where significant challenges remain before the full potential of non-targeted HRMS can be realized in day-to-day food authenticity testing.

Deborah McKenzie, Deputy Assistant Executive Director and Chief Standards Officer at AOAC INTERNATIONAL, USA, moderates this illuminating discussion with leading experts adept at using separation science in food authenticity and food fraud applications; Chris Elliott, Founder of the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, and Professor of Food Security at Thammasat University, Thailand; Michele Suman, Food Safety & Authenticity Research Manager, Barilla Analytical Food Science, Italy, and Adjunct Professor of AgriFood Authenticity, Catholic University Sacred Heart; and Nicholas Birse, Lecturer in Mass Spectrometry, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK and a Researcher at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), Northern Ireland, UK.