Editorial

Abstract

With the demand for good and healthy food, its availability in sufficient quantities and year round, conveniently packaged and sold in supermarkets, with an acceptably long shelf-life, and appealing taste and appearance, more and more foods and food products are being traded around the world. Globalisation and consumer demands require new processing and distribution strategies, which bear new risks and challenges for the safety of foods and feeds. Ensuring that these foods are of high quality and safe to eat when they reach the consumer requires reliable food analysis techniques. Recent food scares such as melamine, dioxin, BSE, Salmonella and E. Coli outbreaks, Listeria monocytogenes, Acrylamide, Avian influenza, Sudan red, Ochratoxin, and others have emphasized the importance of protective legislation and powerful analytical test systems to ensure safety of foods.