The Presence and Importance of Enantiomers in Food

Abstrakt

The chirality of natural and synthetic compounds is a significant factor in evaluation of food quality. Individual enantiomers or enantiomeric ratios in food components do not influence only flavour and aroma but also affect their nutritional values. As a consequence of foodstuff processing, chiral components can racemize. The enantiomer distribution can change also during storage due to, e.g., bacterial contamination or adulteration with synthetic additives. Determination of enantiomeric ratios in food and beverages can therefore provide valuable information for food quality control.