Novel applications of nanotechnology in food safety assessment

Abstract The great development of the food industry in the last few years and the increase of the global food trade have highlighted the importance of developing reliable safety assessment and the establishment of strict directives in order to assure its correct performance and the security of consumers. In this sense, the application of nanotechnology has played an important role to carry out very sensitive and efficient methodologies that allow the determination of very hazardous substances, even at very low concentration levels. The particular characteristics of nanomaterials make them excellent sorbents in sample preparation or stationary phases in separation techniques, but they are also very good substrates for the development of very sensitive detectors based on their different physicochemical properties. The aim of this chapter is summarizing the most remarkable applications of nanotechnology in food safety assessment in the last 4 years (2016–19), providing a general view of the advantages that such materials offer to this field.