Targeted and untargeted investigation in food analysis thanks to comprehensive chromatographic techniques

Food analysis plays a critical role in ensuring food safety, quality, and public health. It represents a fundamental pillar in the agri-food sector, as the outcomes of these analyses can have significant consequences—ranging from batch rejection or foodborne disease to serious public health implications. Given the high stakes involved, analytical methods must be rapid, accurate, and high-performance.
Traditionally, many food analyses rely on targeted approaches, which focus on the detection of specific, pre-defined compounds—such as regulated contaminants or particular nutritional markers like amino acids. These methods are designed to answer narrowly defined questions where the analytes of interest are known in advance. However, this approach demands extensive preliminary work to identify the relevant targets, requiring both time and significant resources.
In contrast, non-targeted approaches do not rely on predefined targets but instead consider all measure and information available within the dataset. Relevant analytes and patterns are subsequently identified through algorithmic processing to meet the initial analytical objective. The emergence of advanced analytical platforms, particularly comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC×GC-MS), offers the depth, dimensionality, and resolution required for effective non-targeted analysis. These techniques enable both broad-spectrum screening and the detailed investigation of complex food matrices.
This presentation will illustrate, through recent case studies, the value of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in both targeted and non-targeted applications within the domain of food analysis.