Abstract Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has definitely emerged as a powerful technique for total element determination and as a sensitive and selective detector in hyphenated methods for speciation analyses of elements in foods. In this review, the analytical challenges of elemental analysis of food and agricultural matrixes are discussed and several applications are examined. Selected examples illustrate the analytical approaches being used so far to address specific issues in various areas of food and nutrition research. The applications discussed include studies on dietary intake, element metabolism in man, transfer of elements through the food chain, effects of food processing and domestic preparation, and authenticity and origin assessment. The use of ICP-MS in the field of analytical quality assurance, food control, evaluation of food contact materials, and radionuclide contamination is also examined. Finally, the hyphenated techniques with ICP-MS detection used for elemental speciation in food are reviewed, and an overview of the main applications currently in the literature is presented. Throughout, recent trends and analytical developments likely to have a major impact on food-related areas are highlighted.