Advances in the detection of azodicarbonamide and the metabolic product semicarbazide

Azodicarbonamide (ADA) is widely used as a foaming and oxidizing agent in the food and plastic industries. However, long-term exposure to it could cause serious health problems. Its metabolic product, semicarbazide (SEM), has raised health concerns due to findings of potential carcinogenicity and genotoxicity in some studies, though the evidence is context-dependent and sometimes conflicting. Therefore, the development of efficient, sensitive, and rapid detection methods for ADA and SEM is of great significance for food safety assurance. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in detection techniques for ADA and SEM, including high-performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, Raman spectroscopy, immunoassays, electrochemical methods, near-infrared spectroscopy, colorimetry, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, photoacoustic, and photothermal detection. Subsequently, the sensitivity, selectivity, applicability, and limitations of these methods are compared and analyzed. Lastly, the challenges and future research trends are discussed. This review will pave the way for the development of advanced sensing strategies for ADA and SEM.