Ensuring the safety of the world’s food supply is of utmost importance. Screening foodstuffs for known and unknown contaminants, such as pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and adulterated food, must be quick and simple, but identifying these contaminants is a challenging experiment. Analysis by mass spectrometry with high resolution and accurate mass is ideally suited for food sample screening and quantification of hundreds to thousands of contaminants in a single analysis. Orbitrap™-based mass spectrometers provide high-resolution, accurate-mass (HR/AM) capabilities with fast scanning speeds required to deliver results quickly to quarantine contaminated food and ensure only safe food is brought to the market.
For additional resources, search the Orbitrap Science Library
Overview
Workflow Overview for Targeted Screening & Quantitation of Food Contaminants
For targeted screening of food, samples are collected and sent to a food testing lab where they are logged into the system. The targeted screening of contaminates is performed using variations of the workflow described here. Samples are processed and contaminants are extracted using various methods from QuEChERS and offline SPE and then analyzed on the mass spectrometer. Data is scrutinized and the amount of contaminate is determined using automated software, and the results are verified by the scientist. The goal of a targeted approach is to determine if the contaminate is present, and if it is, how much is present in the sample.
Resources
Gómez-Pérez ML, Plaza-Bolaños P, et al.
J Chromatogr A. 2012 Jul 27;1248:130-8.
Skrabáková Z, O'Halloran J, et al.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2010 Oct 30;24(20):2966-74.
Kostelanska M, Dzuman Z, et al.
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 14;59(17):9303-12.
Sample Preparation
Sample Preparation Workflow for Targeted Screening & Quantitation of Food Contaminants
QuEChERS, the acronym for Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe, describes a highly beneficial technique that simplifies the analysis of multiple pesticide residues in fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other food products. There are now many variations of QuEChERS; however, AOAC International has one certified method – the AOAC Official Method 2007.01, titled “Pesticide Residues in Foods by Acetonitrile Extraction and Partitioning with Magnesium Sulfate”.
In brief, the QuEChERS procedure entails extracting the pesticides using a variety of simple reagents/buffers, as well as solid phase extraction (SPE). The final extract can be analyzed directly by GC- and/or LC-based mass spectrometry. Both the extraction and cleanup can be scaled up or down as required by the sample.
Products
QuEChERS Products
Columns
Chemicals and Reagents
Resources
AOAC Official Method 2007.01
QuEChERS online information
Original QuEChERS protocol
Mass Spectrometry
Mass Spectrometry Workflow for Targeted Screening & Quantitation of Food Contaminants
The use of UHPLC in food sample analysis has been growing steadily to decrease the turnaround analysis time per sample. Advances in Orbitrap™ technology have been made to accommodate the requirements associated with UHPLC, namely, HR/AM and high speed.
With these benefits in mind, here are a few highlights that will help you acquire the targeted screening and quantitation data in which you are most interested. Full-scan, data-dependent MS/MSmethods enable accurate targeted screening and quantification of known compounds, as well as unknown screening, in a single run.
- Targeted mass lists are used to trigger MS/MS analysis of compounds of interest.
- Additional data-dependent MS/MS performs MS/MS analysis
- After data is acquired, the scientist can always re-interrogate the sample for new compounds of interest.
- Full-scan MS and MS/MS allows confirmation of identity in the same run.
Watch the video poster: Accurate Mass Screening of 510 Pesticides with High Res Orbitrap LC-MS
Products
Thermo Scientific Accela High Speed LC
Download the brochure
Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000 HPLC series
Resources
Gómez-Pérez ML, Plaza-Bolaños P, et al.
J Chromatogr A. 2012 Jul 27;1248:130-8.
Skrabáková Z, O'Halloran J, et al.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2010 Oct 30;24(20):2966-74.
Kostelanska M, Dzuman Z, et al.
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 14;59(17):9303-12.
Data Analysis
Data Analysis Workflow for Targeted Screening & Quantitation of Food Contaminants
Targeted screening and quantification analysis can be performed using Thermo Scientific TraceFinder and ExactFinder software. TraceFinder™ software is the software of choice for food safety labs. It helps scientists quickly decide if the sample is contaminated by using an easy-to-view Data Review section with contaminant flags. The software has a simple 4-click process for selecting an MS method, inputting the sample sequence, running the sample, and reviewing the data. This software increases the throughput of any food safety lab. For the ultimate in targeted screening results, ExactFinder™ software is the software of choice for quick processing for a targeted list of compounds. This software also has flagging features that help the scientist quickly identify if a compound is in the food being analyzed.
Watch the video: TraceFinder LC-MS Software for Food Safety and Environmental Testing.
Products
Thermo Scientific TraceFinder Software
Download the brochure
Thermo Scientific ExactFinder Software
Download the brochure
Resources
Gómez-Pérez ML, Plaza-Bolaños P, et al.
J Chromatogr A. 2012 Jul 27;1248:130-8.
Skrabáková Z, O'Halloran J, et al.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2010 Oct 30;24(20):2966-74.
Kostelanska M, Dzuman Z, et al.
J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 14;59(17):9303-12.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
United States
