Review Richard A. Frazier School of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, Reading, UK Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis methods for food analysis This review article addresses recent advances in the analysis of foods and food com- ponents by capillary electrophoresis (CE). CE has found application to a number of important areas of food analysis, including quantitative chemical analysis of food additives, biochemical analysis of protein composition, and others. The speed, resolu- tion and simplicity of CE, combined with low operating costs, make the technique an attractive option for the development of improved methods of food analysis for the new millennium. Keywords: Capillary electrophoresis / Food analysis / Review EL 4677 Contents 1 Introduction .......................... 4197 2 Food-related proteins .................. 4197 2.1 Milk proteins .......................... 4199 2.2 Cereal proteins ........................ 4199 3 Amino acids in foods ................... 4200 3.1 Free amino acids ...................... 4200 3.2 Biogenic amines ....................... 4200 4 Vitamins ............................. 4200 5 Carbohydrates and gelling agents ........ 4201 6 Phenolic compounds ................... 4201 7 Food additives ........................ 4202 8 Organic acids ......................... 4203 9 Inorganic ions ......................... 4203 10 Toxins and residues .................... 4203 10.1 Toxins ............................... 4203 10.2 Agricultural and veterinary residues ....... 4204 11 Interactions between food components and drugs ............................ 4204 12 Miscellaneous applications .............. 4204 13 Future perspectives .................... 4205 14 References ........................... 4205 1 Introduction Food science is an important area of research that encompasses many disciplines, including the fields of chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology. This diversity calls for an armory of flexible and sensitive methods of analysis, of which CE represents an important part. CE offers high-resolution separations at a minimal cost in terms of staff time and reagent use. However, in compar- ison to other fields of study, the application of CE for food analysis has been limited. Nonetheless, significant pro- gress is continually made to widen the applicability of CE to food analysis and to address important issues relating to food quality and safety. This is highlighted in a recent symposium issue of Electrophoresis devoted to “Food Analysis”, which contains several reviews and original research articles describing the utilization of CE [1]. The aim of this review is to discuss recent advancements in the analysis of foods using CE, focusing particularly on the time period following the previous review by the author in 1999 [2]. 2 Food-related proteins The analysis of proteins and peptides is undoubtedly the most common and multidisciplinary CE application area [3, 4]. CE offers an attractive alternative to more tradi- tional gel electrophoresis methods, providing analogous separation mechanisms combined with a high degree of automation. The major areas of development within food science have been for the analysis of nutritionally impor- tant proteins in dairy and cereals, chiefly in terms of deter- mining the quality and authenticity of food products (see sections below). CE has also found application as a tool for human nutrition studies. For example, methodology has been developed that employs CE for the quantifica- tion and characterization of lipoproteins in human plasma [5]. Lipoproteins play a role in terms of either promoting or preventing the development of coronary disease, al- though the mechanisms involved are not fully understood. CE can play a part in the simple and rapid analysis of lipo- Correspondence: Dr. Richard Frazier, School of Food Bio- sciences, The University of Reading, PO Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AP, UK E-mail: r.a.frazier@reading.ac.uk Fax: +44-118-9310080 Abbreviation: HEC, hydroxyethylcellulose Electrophoresis 2001, 22, 4197–4206 4197 ª WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, 69451 Weinheim, 2001 0173-0835/01/1911–4197 $17.50+.50/0 CEandCEC