Application of Proteomics Technology in Food Quality Assessment and Authenticity Verification

Proteomics, a hallmark of the post-genomic era in life sciences, is found broad application in disciplines such as food science and biomedicine. Its capacity to rapidly, accurately, and comprehensively characterize the content, composition, structural alterations, and metabolic pathways of protein or peptide biomarkers has positioned it as a powerful tool in quality assessment and authenticity verification. This study systematically outlines the proteomics workflow, encompassing extraction, separation, quantification, identification, and subsequent bioinformatics analysis. It further elaborates on the technology's utility in evaluating quality indicator products, elucidating mechanisms of quality change, assessing differential food quality, facilitating novel product development, detecting adulteration, and verifying species identity for authentication purposes. Finally, future developmental trajectories are discussed, providing a reference point for the continued integration of proteomics in food processing.