Abstract: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a core molecule in energy metabolism, is widely present in foods and variations in its concentration are closely related to food quality. However, due to the complex matrix environment of foods, the low abundance of ATP, and its susceptibility to degradation, achieving sensitive and rapid detection of ATP is challenging. In recent years, compared with traditional ATP detection methods, which are often labor-intensive, time-consuming, and dependent on large instruments, optical sensing technologies have offered an important approach to overcome these limitations owing to their high sensitivity, operational simplicity, and rapid response. However, most existing reviews focus on the application of optical sensing strategies for ATP detection in elucidating the association between intracellular ATP levels and severe diseases, while systematic summaries of the correlation between ATP content and food quality, as well as the application of optical sensing technologies for ATP detection in complex food matrices, remain scarce. This paper systematically reviews the correlation between ATP content and food quality, summarizes recent advances in the application of optical sensing technologies for ATP detection in food, and discusses the future application prospects and development directions of ATP optical sensing technologies in food safety and quality control.

Key words: adenosine triphosphate; food quality; optical sensing technologies; food safety; rapid detection