Next‐Generation Biosensors for Real‐Time Quality Monitoring in the Food Industry

ABSTRACT The increasing demand for safe, high‐quality, and minimally processed foods has accelerated the development of innovative biosensing technologies tailored for real‐time monitoring in the food industry. Biosensors offer rapid, sensitive, and often non‐destructive tools for detecting contaminants, spoilage markers, nutrient content, and adulterants across diverse food matrices. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the design, working principles, and applications of biosensors across major food commodity groups. Emphasis is placed on cereal and grain products for mycotoxin detection, dairy for antibiotic and adulterant monitoring, meat and poultry for pathogen identification, and seafood for spoilage and toxin detection. Applications in fruits, vegetables, beverages, bakery products, and functional foods are also discussed, highlighting the role of biosensors in monitoring pesticide residues, ripeness, fermentation status, and nutrient stability. Furthermore, the integration of biosensors into smart packaging systems and portable on‐site devices is explored as a promising approach for continuous quality surveillance throughout the food supply chain. The review concludes by addressing current challenges—including sensor stability, specificity, cost‐effectiveness, and scalability—and highlights future directions in miniaturization, AI integration, and multifunctional biosensing platforms. Unlike existing reviews that are largely commodity‐specific or technology‐focused, this work uniquely synthesizes recent advances across diverse applications while emphasizing the convergence of biosensors with digital and smart packaging technologies. Overall, this review provides a holistic resource for advancing intelligent food safety systems through biosensor innovation and their integration with emerging digital solutions.