Abstract: Carbon dots (CDs), a new type of fluorescent nanomaterials, have gained wide attention. In recent years, finding and developing specific raw materials for synthesizing novel CDs has become a research hotspot. In particular, food materials have unique advantages for use as precursors for the synthesis of CDs owing to their renewability, wide sources, low cost and easy availability, and can be used to prepare doped CDs with improved applicability by taking advantage of their rich elements. Moreover, CDs prepared from food materials have low toxicity and excellent biocompatibility. In general, food materials play an important role in the synthesis of CDs, and food-derived CDs show increasingly important application prospects. This article summarizes the latest progress in the synthesis of CDs from food materials with respect to various food materials used, synthesis methods and the properties of CDs. An overview of the applications of food-derived materials in the analysis of food and medicine, bio-imaging and catalysis is presented as well.

Key words: food-derived carbon dots, nanomaterials, characteristics, food safety, detection, application