From farm to table: mass spectrometry imaging in traditional and innovative foods

The evolution of agriculture has given rise to the agro-food system that extends beyond the farm. The food we eat consists of micro and macro molecules, these molecules contribute to the flavour and nutritional profile. Besides this, there are also contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides or additional ingredients in the food. Therefore, understanding the molecular profile is important for food quality, safety and development of new products. Analytical techniques such as chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry provides identification and quantification of wide variety of molecules. However, it involves homogenizing the sample like a smoothie. This process lacks spatial distribution, knowing the localization of molecules of interest is important to understand physiological processes of plants, spoilage of food and modifying the food according to the consumer demand. This thesis utilized mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) techniques to study taste compounds in mushrooms, ingredient classification in burgers and temporal dynamics of molecules and bacteria in an organic vineyard.