Surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) provides a potential solution for rapid analysis of trace compounds such as residual pesticides, naturally occurred toxicants, banned or restricted drugs, and food additives in complex food matrices. In this review, the basic principles of SERS and general approaches to successfully apply SERS in food analysis are covered from an applications perspective. The key steps including substrate selection and evaluation, sample preparation and simplification, spectral collection, and data analysis during the development of SERS methods for food analysis are summarized, together with the discussion of typical underlying technical barriers or major challenges of these methods and their applications. Future directions in successfully applying SERS technology as a routine analytical approach to solve real‐world food problems are analyzed. This comprehensive review summarizes the recent progress on theory, application, and scope of SERS for food analysis, providing a basic understanding of the technology; more importantly, key methodology, potential pitfalls, and possible solutions during the development of rapid SERS methods based on authors’ years of SERS experience are shared with researchers in the field.

中文翻译：

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使用表面增强拉曼光谱分析食品中有机化合物的痕量：方法、进展和挑战

表面增强拉曼光谱 (SERS) 为快速分析痕量化合物（如残留农药、天然存在的毒物、禁用或限用药物以及复杂食品基质中的食品添加剂）提供了一种潜在的解决方案。在这篇综述中，从应用的角度介绍了 SERS 的基本原理和在食品分析中成功应用 SERS 的一般方法。总结了食品分析 SERS 方法开发过程中的关键步骤，包括底物选择和评估、样​​品制备和简化、光谱收集和数据分析，并讨论了这些方法及其应用的典型潜在技术障碍或主要挑战. 分析了成功应用 SERS 技术作为解决现实世界食品问题的常规分析方法的未来方向。这篇综合综述总结了 SERS 用于食品分析的理论、应用和范围的最新进展，提供了对该技术的基本了解；更重要的是，基于作者多年 SERS 经验的快速 SERS 方法开发过程中的关键方法、潜在陷阱和可能的解决方案与该领域的研究人员分享。