ReviewRaman imaging for food quality and safety evaluation: Fundamentals and applications

•Potential of Raman imaging are elaborated for replacing traditional methods.•Principles of Raman imaging relating to SERS and Raman microscopy are revealed.•Data preprocessing and processing methods are reviewed for Raman image analysis.•Applications of Raman imaging in food quality and safety control are discussed.

BackgroundFood quality and safety is of great concern to governments, the food industry, as well as consumers. Thus, research has been conducted to develop advanced detection techniques instead of traditional methods to provide rapid, non-destructive food quality and safety evaluation and analysis for the industry.Scope and approachAs an emerging technology, Raman imaging has been successfully studied in food safety assessment and control. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the applications of Raman imaging in the area of food quality evaluation, assessment of adulterants and contaminants, and detection of pesticides. Other relevant techniques are also reported due to their close relationship with food safety control.Conclusions and key findingsWith these applications, it is evident that Raman imaging has given promising results and thus could be a powerful technique for food quality surveillance as well as for reducing the occurrence of food safety issues.