Currently, there is fierce competition in the cocoa industry to develop products that possess distinctive sensory characteristics and flavours. This is because cocoa and its derivatives provide numerous health and functional advantages, which is essential to their economics. The fatty acid and triglyceride composition of cocoa determines its quality. This review emphasises the necessity of developing precise, adaptable analytical techniques to identify and quantify cocoa butter in cocoa and its derived products, from cocoa beans to chocolate bars. Key chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques play crucial roles in understanding the fundamental principles underlying the production of cocoa with desirable flavours. This significantly impacts the sustainability, traceability, and authenticity of cocoa products while also supporting the battle against adulteration.

Milk is susceptible to Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) contamination, mainly through consumption of contaminated animal's feed. The natural occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFB1) has been surveyed in samples of milk and milk powder. Samples collected from different regions of Saudi Arabia during the period from 2013 to 2021 were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, and (AFB1) was quantified with detection limits of 0.5 µg/kg. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has taken strong actions to limit AFM1 contamination, increase aflatoxin control, and modify the regulations. A study analyzed 363 randomly collected milk samples (168 milk, 195 milk powder) from Saudi Arabia using LC-MS/MS. Out of the 363 samples, 20 were positive for AFM1, with 343 were within the limits. One out of the 168 milk samples and 19 out of the 195 milk powder samples exceeded the limits, with seven originating from Saudi Arabia. The highest AFM1 concentration (3.97 µg/kg) was found in the Saudi samples. Saudi Arabia's mycotoxin regulations significantly reduced AFM1 contamination in milk, which is not considered a serious health hazard.

Nut products are susceptible to contamination with mycotoxin, especially aflatoxins, which results of mold growth during harvest or storage. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of aflatoxins in peanut products from the Saudi market. A total of 472 samples of peanut and peanut butter imported from various countries were collected in the period from 2015 to 2020. All samples were analyzed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Total aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2) were found to exceed the maximum level (ML) in 38 samples (8.1 %) with a concentration range of 15.56–973.21 µg/kg, while 434 samples were below ML (91.9 %). Specifically, in Peanut butter samples, 27 out of 333 were contaminated with Aflatoxins (8.8 %), and 11 out of 139 peanut samples were contaminated with aflatoxins (8.6 %). The results show that the percentage of Aflatoxins contamination was reduced in the period (2019 – 2020) compared to (2015 – 2018), due to the control of mycotoxins in Saudi Arabia which played an important role in reducing the contamination of AFs in peanut products.