Monitoring chemical changes during food sterilisation using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry

•Laboratory-scale system allowed monitoring of chemical changes during sterilisation.•The lab-scale process was representative of the factory pet food process.•FT-ICR-MS indicated around 2000 molecular formulae were present in each sample.•Data visualisation allowed tentative identification of some compounds.•The first stages of reaction between amino acids and sugars were monitored.