Quality control (QC) is an integral part of any industrial-scale food manufacturing process, and is vital for ensuring that end products are free from contaminants. Inadequate QC can lead to unpredictable goods, damage a brand’s reputation and, at worst, prove detrimental to consumer health. Food safety is therefore understandably a high public health priority, and manufacturers must adhere to various complex guidelines in order to distribute their goods. Despite these regulations, many hazardous or unexpected items do still make it into the end products bought by consumers and can potentially enter food at any point in the supply chain. Understanding both the benefits and limitations of the different detection technologies currently available for food inspection applications can help to address this issue and plug the gaps in existing food safety strategies.