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The screening of biological hazards, chemical contaminants and allergens in food products is a major concern of food industry since they can cause serious illnesses and even lead to death. Therefore, there is a significant interest in developing low-cost, robust, and rapid detection methods for food safety and quality analysis. Conventional methods provide accurate analytical characteristics, but require well-equipped laboratories, trained personnel, costly reagents, and complicated sample preparation procedures prior to the detection in order to obtain reliable results. Hence, they are not always ideal for on-site food surveillance. This paper discusses the fundamentals of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) and reviews the recent progress in their usage for screening biological hazards, harmful chemical residues, and allergens in food products to systematically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of this technology. It then covers future trends and useful strategies that could be employed in μPADs design and fabrication procedures to address the critical challenges in equipment-free food analysis. μPADs offer promising avenues to revolutionize food safety and quality analysis with merits of equipment-free sample preparation and detection at low-cost. Despite the advancement in the microfluidic technology, the manufacturing of user-friendly sample-to-answer μPADs still requires intensive research studies to be employed for robust and sensitive food safety and quality analysis. • Reducing health hazards associated with food is a major concern of the food industry. • There is a need to develop handheld, low-cost and simple to use analyzing devices. • Progress in rapid screening of biological and chemical hazards in food is reviewed. • μPADs offer promising avenues to revolutionize food safety and quality analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrite has been involved in many food processing techniques and its excessive consumption is closely related to the development of different diseases. Therefore, highly sensitive detection of nitrite is significant to ensure food safety. This study presents a simple and novel strategy for the highly sensitive detection of nitrite in food using paper-based analytical devices (PADs). In this proposed strategy, the nitrite present in the sample undergoes efficient diazotization when initially mixed with sulfanilamide solution before reacting with N-(1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (NED) coated on the detection region of the PAD, leading to the maximum production of colored azo compounds. Specifically, within the concentration range of 0.1–20 mg/L, the LOD and LOQ for the nitrite assay using the premixing strategy are determined as 0.053 mg/L and 0.18 mg/L, respectively which significantly surpass the corresponding values of 0.18 mg/L (LOD) and 0.61 mg/L (LOQ) achieved with the regular Griess reagent analysis. The study highlights the critical importance of the premixing strategy in nitrite detection. Under optimized conditions, the strategy demonstrates an excellent limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for nitrite detection in eight different meat samples. In addition to its high precision, the strategy is applicable in the field of nitrite analysis. This strategy could facilitate rapid and cost-effective nitrite analysis in real food samples, ensuring food safety and quality analysis. [Display omitted] • Novel premixing strategy enables sensitive nitrite detection on μPADs. • Enhanced LOD and LOQ compared to conventional Griess assay. • Successful application in 8 food samples validates practicality and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By utilizing the coffee‐ring effect and microfluidic paper‐based analytical devices (µPADs), this study improved the sensitivity of the determination of norfloxacin in four different food matrices. Micro‐PADs in this study were fabricated by designing and embedding wax channels onto cellulose‐based filter paper through printing and subjecting the paper to heat to allow the wax to penetrate the paper. Determination of norfloxacin concentration in food samples was achieved by monitoring the colorimetric reaction that occurred between norfloxacin and the added iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate in 5 mM ammonia in each reaction chamber. A transition metal hydroxide was formed through this reaction that resulted in the formation of a solid precipitate to enable the antibiotic to bind to the iron molecule via coordination chemistry. This metal ion–antibiotic complex generated a visible color change. Following the colorimetric reaction, images were taken and subsequently analyzed via ImageJ to determine the relative pixel intensity that was used to infer norfloxacin concentration. The analytical sensitivity of this device was determined to be as low as 50 ppm when analyzing the inner‐ring reaction, and as low as 5 ppm when analyzing the outer coffee ring thereby allowing for an alternative cheaper, faster, and more user‐friendly method to detect norfloxacin than the conventional methods. Practical Application: This novel paper‐based microfluidic device can achieve the detection of antibiotic residues in agrifoods in a faster, cheaper, and more user‐friendly manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a paper-based microfluidic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed as a screening system for rapid detection of clenbuterol, which is illegally used as a growth promoter for food-producing animals. The microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) was combined with ELISA and the intrinsic properties of paper allowed the entrapment of antibody through cellulosic fibres, validating to be an alternative to 96-well ELISA microplate for food safety monitoring. Detection of clenbuterol in milk was achieved by measuring the intensity of colour change that was proportional to the analyte concentration with a detection limit of 0.2 ppb. The μPAD effectively reduces the cost, volume of reagents, and time required to run ELISA for food sample testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low-cost paper device was fabricated for fast screening of tetracycline in milk. • The desirable porous structure of the device strengthened the detection signal. • Large quantity of 20 types of commercial milks was tested to validate the method. • The method can be used for continuously monitoring TC's dynamic degradation. A low-cost and portable paper-based analytical device has been developed for high throughput and on-site monitoring TC residue in milk through visualized colorimetric reaction. The filtration and concentration effect induced by the porous nature of paper contribute to strengthen the color intensity, leading to quantitative and sensitive detection of tetracycline reaching 1 ppm detection limit, with the linear range of 1–100 ppm both in water and milk samples. The applicability was demonstrated by detection of TC in 18 different types of real milk samples with good recovery ranging from 88% to 113%. Furthermore, the dynamic degradation behavior of tetracycline was monitored through the device. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of colorimetric detection of tetracycline in milk using the paper-based device. This simple, fast, cost-effective (~$0.50 per device) and equipment-free paper-based platform provides a promising tool for future application in food and environmental safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) is designed. • Coffee-ring effect of the µPAD was used to improve the sensitivity of the test. • A detection limit of 1.1 mg kg−1 of nitrite in pork is achieved at coffee-ring. • Overall analysis can be completed within 15 min. This study employed the use of a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µPAD) to determine the concentration of nitrite in pork and enhanced the limit of detection by analyzing the coffee-ring effect. The µPAD was fabricated by designing and embedding wax channels onto the cellulose-based filter paper through printing and subjecting the paper to heat treatment to allow wax penetration. Nitrite concentration was determined by monitoring the colorimetric reaction that occurred between nitrite and the added Griess reagent. The limit of detection of this device for nitrite in pork was determined to be 19.2 mg kg−1 by analyzing the inner-chamber reaction, while it could be as low as 1.1 mg kg−1 if the coffee-ring region was analyzed. The overall analysis could be completed within 15 min. This µPAD-based method has potential applications to routinely screen the nitrite concentration of meat products and ensure food safety and consumer health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]