As a result of the range and the variety of toxic and undesirable substances in food, which pose a potential
hazard to human health, there is an ever-increasing demand for analytical methods that can reliably
detect and quantify contaminants and residues in foods. This review presents the state-of-the-art technology
used in the determination of trace residues and contaminants in food by liquid chromatographymass
spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS instruments utilize many different types of mass analyzer to improve
selectivity and also confidence in assigning the identity of the contaminants detected and to offer different
approaches to analysis. We discuss current analytical approaches together with the major benefits
and the limitations of these technologies with respect to screening, quantification and identification
of contaminants and residues in food.