THE POTENTIAL OF ENANTIOSELECTIVE ANALYSIS AS A QUALITY-CONTROL TOOL

Many food components are chiral: some are present as optically pure en antiomers, others are present in specific enantiomeric ratios. The ena ntiomeric ratio of some compounds, such as amino acids, can be affecte d by thermal treatments, fermentation and ageing. In the case of flavo urs, the enantiomeric ratio can be modified by the addition of synthet ic racemic ingredients (adulteration). Enantiomers generally have diff erent organoleptic properties, and may have different metabolic fates. The availability of highly sensitive chromatographic methods for chir al discrimination allows the determination of most enantiomers in food s. Thus, the enantiomeric ratio of food components is a reliable param eter to assess quality because it may be indicative of a technological process, contamination, adulteration, ageing and shelf life.