Recently X-ray fluorescence techniques have been widely used in food and agricultural science areas. Minimal sample preparation, nondestructive analysis, high spatial resolution, and multiple elements measurements within a single sample are among its advantages. In this review, literature of X-ray fluorescence are extensively researched and summarized from food and agricultural science areas focusing on food safety inspection, food nutrition, plant science, soil science, and Ca-related problems in horticultural crops. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of X-ray fluorescence comparing with traditional analytical techniques of elements are also discussed. The more advanced technology such as developments of detector, scanning system, beamline capability among others would significantly increase future application of X-ray fluorescence techniques. Combination use of XRF with other tools such as chemometrics or data analytics would greatly improve its prediction performance. These further improvements offer exciting perspectives for the application of X-ray fluorescence in the food and agricultural science areas.
Keywords: X-ray fluorescence; advantage; crop; disadvantage; food nutrition; food safety; plant; soil.