Analytical strategies based on chromatography–mass spectrometry for the determination of estrogen-mimicking compounds in food

• Natural and anthropogenic sources of estrogen-like compounds.
• Estrogens, mycoestrogens, phytoestrogens, alkylphenols occurrence in food.
• Sample preparation and detection of estrogenic compounds in food.
• Issues in GC–MS and LC–MS determination.
• New LC developments and MS trends in the field.

Food safety can be compromised by the presence of a wide variety of substances, deriving from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Among these substances, compounds exhibiting various degrees of estrogenic activity have been widely studied in environmental samples, whereas less attention has been devoted to food matrices. The aim of the present review is to give a general overview on the recent analytical methods based on gas or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for the determination of estrogen-like compounds in foods, including new developments, improvements and upcoming trends in the field. Attention will be focused on four representative groups of compounds, i.e. natural and synthetic estrogens, mycoestrogens, phytoestrogens, and alkylphenols.