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Review
. 2025 Jul 20;13(7):e70643.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.70643. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Exploring the Frontiers of Food Science: A Comprehensive Review of Advanced Magnetic Resonance Applications in Food Analysis, Quality Analysis, and Safety Assessment

Affiliations
Review

Exploring the Frontiers of Food Science: A Comprehensive Review of Advanced Magnetic Resonance Applications in Food Analysis, Quality Analysis, and Safety Assessment

Zina T Alkanan et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

Magnetic resonance (MR) technologies, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electron spin resonance (ESR), have been identified as fundamental tools in the modern food science, which allows virtually high precision and non-invasive detection during quality assessment, safety analysis, and authenticity verification. This path reveals the adaptability of MR technologies and their importance across various food aspects. The article emphasizes their utilization in ensuring proper composition, detecting fraudulent elements, and monitoring changes during processing and storage in different food products. The application of MR techniques in the analysis of the dairy and cheese industries, has indeed proven to be a necessity in the profiling of metabolites, analyzing ripening stages, and antioxidant stability assessment, when coupled with quality control and regulatory compliance. Moreover, MR AI driven food analysis propels the development of AI, which supports functionality with high processing speeds, prediction modeling, and quick safety diagnostics. These new technologies do not only simplify food authentication and traceability but they also contribute to sustainability and customer transparency. The review, by displaying the key breakthroughs and the possibilities, keeps pace with the main role of MR technologies in food science, which is the driving force behind innovation and the meeting of global food systems ever-changing needs.

Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI) in food analysis; food authentication; foodomics; magnetic resonance; nuclear magnetic resonance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Characterization of magnetic resonance (MR) techniques used in food applications.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
NMR spectroscopy instruments.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
MRI instruments.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
ESR instruments.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
NMR instruments with low‐field capabilities.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Liquid and solid food samples preparation for NMR analysis: (A) Stages in the preparation of solid samples, involving such steps as freezing, lyophilizing, and homogenizing (B) Liquid sample preparation with possibilities of direct analysis or pre‐treatment steps such as degassing, lyophilization, or dilution (C) The extraction of both direct and non‐direct methods may involve the steps of solvent selection, centrifugation, and drying before NMR analysis.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Applications of magnetic resonance (MR) in food analysis: From quality assessment to metabolite identification across diverse food products.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
A genuine saffron sample's 1H NMR spectrum with picrocrocin and crocin resonances emphasized and magnified. Source: Schumacher et al. (Schumacher et al. 2016). No permission needed (CC BY‐NC‐ND 4.0).

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