THEORY AND APPLICATIONS OF FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY IN FOOD RESEARCH

Fluorescence spectroscopy is a rapid, sensitive method for characteriz ing molecular environments and events. In spite of its utility, food r esearchers have been slow to adopt fluorescence methodology, partly be cause its value has gone unrecognized. This article presents a brief o verview of the theory of fluorescence spectroscopy, together with some examples of applications of this technique to illustrate its potentia l for addressing key problems in food science.