Recent applications of DSC and TGA in food quality control and authenticity verification: Current progress and future...

The increasing complexity of food supply chains and rising consumer demand for transparency underscore the need for rapid, reliable, and cost-effective approaches to food quality control and authenticity assessment. Conventional analytical techniques, including chromatography and spectroscopy, offer high accuracy but involve time, labor, and cost. Thermal analysis (TA), particularly Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), has emerged as an environmentally sustainable alternative. This review investigates recent advances in TA for food authentication, focusing on its principles and applications across food matrices, including edible oils, dairy products, honey, and meat. Thermal fingerprints generated by DSC and TGA provide indicators of compositional and structural changes, enabling evaluation of authenticity, thermal stability, oxidation, crystallization behavior, and shelf life. Integration with chemometric and machine learning approaches enhances adulteration detection, even at low levels. However, standardized protocols, thermal databases, and regulatory acceptance remain essential for widespread adoption.