Green analytical chemistry for food industries

Abstract The goal of green analytical chemistry is to implement efficient methods with reduced use of toxic solvents and minimum generation of wastes streams. The use of emerging extraction technologies (ultrasound- and microwave-assisted, pressurized liquid and supercritical fluid extraction) to prepare samples for analytical detection increased because of the efficient recovery of compounds. The direct coupling of extraction and analytical methods has been proposed to reduce the time of analysis and generation of waste solvents. Nevertheless, the reliability of methods based on direct coupling is a difficult task and current challenge in research. Besides, reports on the detection of food analytes based on direct coupling and the setup of online integrated equipment are scarce. This chapter includes future directions on the miniaturization of direct coupled extraction with analytical detection (gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and their variations) to extract, separate, and detect food analytes, like polyphenols, ginsenosides, and steroids.