Global demand for soyabeans has increase dramatically especially over the past 30 years, which has led to concerns about lower-than-expected product quality, adulteration, illegal trade, and deforestation. Therefore, development of effective analytical regimes to determine geographical origin and hence traceability, have become a priority. This is the first review that investigates current analytical techniques coupled with multivariate analysis for determining the geographical origin of soybeans. The 10 analytical techniques in 3 main groups outlined above are assessed, compared, and discussed in terms of their operating specifics, advantages, and shortcomings. The contribution of chemometrics in in analysing complex data is also covered. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages of its own. For example, the major drawback of geochemical techniques is their instrumental and operational costs, which can be mitigated by spectroscopic methods at the expense of sensitivity. Gaps in application of some analytical techniques are also identified.
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