The latest developments and applications of mass spectrometry in food-safety and quality analysis

•The latest developments in mass spectrometry (MS) are reviewed.•Recent MS applications in food safety and food quality are introduced.•Different MS techniques are described and compared.•The novel characteristics of the newly-developed ambient MS are discussed.

This review introduces fundamental principles and applications of different types of mass detector and highlights the novel advances of newly developed mass-spectrometry (MS) methods, including MALDI-TOF-MS imaging and ambient ionization MS for direct food analysis. We also discuss and compare the advantages and the limitations of different MS techniques in their applications to food safety and quality, and comment on the future outlook.