Recent advances in reactive small-molecule fluorescent probes for food safety

Food safety is essential for protecting public health and ensuring the well-being of individuals. The importance of rapid food testing technology lies in its ability to quickly and accurately detect potential food safety hazards, thereby safeguarding public health and ensuring the quality of food products. Among various detection methods, fluorescence analysis stands out for its high sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution, and non-destructive detection, making it a superior choice in food safety testing. In particular, reactive small-molecule fluorescent probes can specifically respond to key biomarkers during the detection process, leading to obvious fluorescence changes. This review summarizes the applications of reactive small-molecule fluorescent probes in the detection of important analytes in food such as reactive nitrogen (RNS), reactive oxygen (ROS), reactive sulfur (RSS), reactive carbon (RCS), metal ions, pH, viscosity, and pesticides over the past three years. It focuses on probe structures, working mechanisms, detection substrates, response behaviors, and fluorescence changes during the response process. Additionally, this review addresses the existing obstacles and potential avenues for future studies on fluorescent probes in food detection, offering valuable insights for advancing future probe development.