NMR metabolomics in food authentication

In the last years there was an increasing interest on NMR spectroscopy, whose application experienced an exponential growth in several research fields, particularly in food analysis. NMR represents the elective technique for the structure elucidation of molecules and it is particularly suited to analyze complex mixtures, like foods. Its use in analytical routines, characterized by rapid and reproducible measurements, would provide the identification of a wide range of chemical compounds in the mixture under investigation simultaneously, revealing potential markers or disclosing sophisticated frauds. The great economic values of high quality or guaranteed food products demands highly refined characterization tools to protect consumers and the productions of valuable foods. This scenario suggests metabolomics as a privileged approach for the modern analytical studies in the next decades.