Food safety testing

Food safety standards change and evolve

Ensuring the safety of the world’s food supply is critical, but there are concerns about the safety of global food supply chains because food can:

  • Be grown and processed in widely differing environments under a variety of regulatory frameworks
  • Travel thousands of miles and handled by many different operators and people
  • Experience various storage conditions with temperature fluctuations that may affect shelf life

Don't miss our upcoming webinars on off-flavor analysis in different food matrices. We offer this webinar in English (January 19, 2023) and German (January 17, 2023)

Do you want to talk to our experts about your analytical challenges? Click here to contact us and we will get back to you 

Emerging topics

off-flavors analysis in food products

Analysis of off-flavors in different food matrices - Vegan products do not always taste as expected and remain on the shelf

Food producers typically know this problem: A vegan Schnitzel that tastes slightly rancid. A soy milk with a bitter aftertaste. Or an unpleasant sulfurous odor when the food package is opened. The reason for this is the predominantly plant-based origin of the raw materials, which are subjects to certain variations and can therefore cause an unpleasant taste. In the chromatogram, such fluctuations of concentration are resulting in different peak areas. Often in concentrations that that require a detection method with strong resolution power and sensitivity. 

With the greater availability of vegan food products, the demand for off-flavor analysis is increasing. Food chemists need to be able to detect these substances at very low concentrations, identify them and find out if they are present in all or just in some products. Thermo Scientific GC Orbitrap MS technology and fully automated deconvolution offer a solution to this analytical challenge.

What are the challenges of off-flavor analysis?

  • Single quadrupole MS systems do not have sufficient resolution to provide the required selectivity and sensitivity to detect off-flavors in very small concentrations.
  • A manual library search without deconvolution delivers unreliable results.
  • A statistical comparison is necessary to recognize the same and different substances.
  • Hundreds of measurements require manual data handling and evaluation. This is very time consuming and error-prone.

What are the advantages of GC Orbitrap MS and the statistical compare analysis?

  • GC Orbitrap MS has the sensitivity and selectivity to identify even the smallest off-flavor peaks.
  • The Thermo Scientific Compound Discoverer software performs deconvolution in an automated, reliable and accurate way.
  • The fully automated workflow structure provides identification as well as differential analysis, taking parameters such as NIST search, similarity, measured vs. exact molar mass into account.
  • PCA (Principal Component Analysis) provides automatically generated, fast and reliable results.
upcoming off-flavors analysis webinars on Jan 17, 2022 (German language session) and Jan 19, 2023 (English language session)

Join the upcoming live webinars on off-flavors analysis

Hear more details and use this opportunity to address your questions to our experts.

Can't make this time? Register anyway and we will automatically send you the recording so you can catch up antyime.

fully automated LC/GC workflow for MOSH/MOAH analysis

Fully automated LC/GC solutions for MOSH/MOAH analysis in food

Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) are found in foods already for several years. These pollutants can enter the food chain at an early stage during production and transportation of crops. Examples for possible entry sources are emissions on crops grown nearby gasoline or industrial plants, entry from oily machine parts and lubricants during crop processing, or from packing material used for the transportation of crops. EN 16995:2017 describes the determination of MOSH/MOAH with on-line HPLC-GC-FID-analysis (C10-C50), which was confirmed by the European Committee of Standardisation in the same year. Since recently, large food processing companies request a certificate of analysis from their suppliers in food materials.

When you determine MOSH/MOAH in food samples, you probably face these challenges and difficulties:

  • Manual sample preparation, especially for food samples, often involves many steps, takes long and is error prone.
  • Time-consuming clean-up (e.g. saponification, Aluox cleanup) is required for sensitive, precise and reliable analysis.
  • Clogging of LC-lines requires additional cleaning.
  • Instrument control can be complex and users often need to operate more than one software platform (up to 4!) to control the configuration for MOSH-MOAH analysis.
  • Analytical results are often calculated outside the instrument software in Microsoft® Excel®. This typically means jumping between software windows, copy/paste into Excel, back, etc. and is time-consuming and error prone.

Benefit from an integrated analytical solution eliminating complexity from these challenging analysis:

  • Automated sample preparation from start to report saves time and improves analytical results.
  • Ready-to-use clean-up methods are available for different matrices such as oil, meat, chocolate, and infant formulas.
  • Heated valves prevent clogging and unnecessary downtime of the instruments.
  • Benefit from ready-to-use templates for MOSH and MOAH fractions.
  • You need only one software for instrument control, data acquisition and calculation.
  • Take advantage of automated, compliance-ready data processing with simplified reporting.

 

Overcome the common challenges in MOSH/MOAH analysis

Find out more about the key benefits like automated sample preparation and clean-up procedures, the use of only one software tool , no need any more for manual data handling, preconfigured instruments tailored to the specific analytical applications' needs:

Ethylene oxide (EtO) - the new threat in food

ethylene oxide (EtO) analysis in food

Hundreds of products are currently being pulled of the shelves in supermarkets all over Europe, due to contamination with the pesticide ethylene oxide (E410, E412) found in sesame seeds and guar gum produced outside of Europe. Food labs are challenged by the amount of additional samples that need to be tested now for this contaminant.

Read more on this topic:

Watch webinars: Toxic gases in food and the threat of ethylene oxide. In English, Italian or German.
Find out more and register here ›

Acrylamide - in the news again

shutterstock-181116284-acrylamide-230x195

The number of positive samples for acrylamide has dramatically increased in 2021. Acrylamide (2-propenamide) has been found in some cooked foods, including fried and baked starchy foods such as potato crisps, chips, roasted coffee, breads and peanuts. In baked and fried foods, acrylamide is formed from asparagine as a by-product of the Maillard reaction at temperatures above 120 °C.

Find complete workflow solutions for acrylamide in food samples, including a proven method used by food labs all over Europe, utilizing the Thermo Scientific TRACE 1310 gas chromatograph and ISQ 7000 single quadrupole GC-MS systems in one of our recent eBooks, GC-MS for food safety analysis. 

Get your free copy here ›

off-flavors analysis in food products

Analysis of off-flavors in different food matrices - Vegan products do not always taste as expected and remain on the shelf

Food producers typically know this problem: A vegan Schnitzel that tastes slightly rancid. A soy milk with a bitter aftertaste. Or an unpleasant sulfurous odor when the food package is opened. The reason for this is the predominantly plant-based origin of the raw materials, which are subjects to certain variations and can therefore cause an unpleasant taste. In the chromatogram, such fluctuations of concentration are resulting in different peak areas. Often in concentrations that that require a detection method with strong resolution power and sensitivity. 

With the greater availability of vegan food products, the demand for off-flavor analysis is increasing. Food chemists need to be able to detect these substances at very low concentrations, identify them and find out if they are present in all or just in some products. Thermo Scientific GC Orbitrap MS technology and fully automated deconvolution offer a solution to this analytical challenge.

What are the challenges of off-flavor analysis?

  • Single quadrupole MS systems do not have sufficient resolution to provide the required selectivity and sensitivity to detect off-flavors in very small concentrations.
  • A manual library search without deconvolution delivers unreliable results.
  • A statistical comparison is necessary to recognize the same and different substances.
  • Hundreds of measurements require manual data handling and evaluation. This is very time consuming and error-prone.

What are the advantages of GC Orbitrap MS and the statistical compare analysis?

  • GC Orbitrap MS has the sensitivity and selectivity to identify even the smallest off-flavor peaks.
  • The Thermo Scientific Compound Discoverer software performs deconvolution in an automated, reliable and accurate way.
  • The fully automated workflow structure provides identification as well as differential analysis, taking parameters such as NIST search, similarity, measured vs. exact molar mass into account.
  • PCA (Principal Component Analysis) provides automatically generated, fast and reliable results.
upcoming off-flavors analysis webinars on Jan 17, 2022 (German language session) and Jan 19, 2023 (English language session)

Join the upcoming live webinars on off-flavors analysis

Hear more details and use this opportunity to address your questions to our experts.

Can't make this time? Register anyway and we will automatically send you the recording so you can catch up antyime.

fully automated LC/GC workflow for MOSH/MOAH analysis

Fully automated LC/GC solutions for MOSH/MOAH analysis in food

Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) are found in foods already for several years. These pollutants can enter the food chain at an early stage during production and transportation of crops. Examples for possible entry sources are emissions on crops grown nearby gasoline or industrial plants, entry from oily machine parts and lubricants during crop processing, or from packing material used for the transportation of crops. EN 16995:2017 describes the determination of MOSH/MOAH with on-line HPLC-GC-FID-analysis (C10-C50), which was confirmed by the European Committee of Standardisation in the same year. Since recently, large food processing companies request a certificate of analysis from their suppliers in food materials.

When you determine MOSH/MOAH in food samples, you probably face these challenges and difficulties:

  • Manual sample preparation, especially for food samples, often involves many steps, takes long and is error prone.
  • Time-consuming clean-up (e.g. saponification, Aluox cleanup) is required for sensitive, precise and reliable analysis.
  • Clogging of LC-lines requires additional cleaning.
  • Instrument control can be complex and users often need to operate more than one software platform (up to 4!) to control the configuration for MOSH-MOAH analysis.
  • Analytical results are often calculated outside the instrument software in Microsoft® Excel®. This typically means jumping between software windows, copy/paste into Excel, back, etc. and is time-consuming and error prone.

Benefit from an integrated analytical solution eliminating complexity from these challenging analysis:

  • Automated sample preparation from start to report saves time and improves analytical results.
  • Ready-to-use clean-up methods are available for different matrices such as oil, meat, chocolate, and infant formulas.
  • Heated valves prevent clogging and unnecessary downtime of the instruments.
  • Benefit from ready-to-use templates for MOSH and MOAH fractions.
  • You need only one software for instrument control, data acquisition and calculation.
  • Take advantage of automated, compliance-ready data processing with simplified reporting.

 

Overcome the common challenges in MOSH/MOAH analysis

Find out more about the key benefits like automated sample preparation and clean-up procedures, the use of only one software tool , no need any more for manual data handling, preconfigured instruments tailored to the specific analytical applications' needs:

Ethylene oxide (EtO) - the new threat in food

ethylene oxide (EtO) analysis in food

Hundreds of products are currently being pulled of the shelves in supermarkets all over Europe, due to contamination with the pesticide ethylene oxide (E410, E412) found in sesame seeds and guar gum produced outside of Europe. Food labs are challenged by the amount of additional samples that need to be tested now for this contaminant.

Read more on this topic:

Watch webinars: Toxic gases in food and the threat of ethylene oxide. In English, Italian or German.
Find out more and register here ›

Acrylamide - in the news again

shutterstock-181116284-acrylamide-230x195

The number of positive samples for acrylamide has dramatically increased in 2021. Acrylamide (2-propenamide) has been found in some cooked foods, including fried and baked starchy foods such as potato crisps, chips, roasted coffee, breads and peanuts. In baked and fried foods, acrylamide is formed from asparagine as a by-product of the Maillard reaction at temperatures above 120 °C.

Find complete workflow solutions for acrylamide in food samples, including a proven method used by food labs all over Europe, utilizing the Thermo Scientific TRACE 1310 gas chromatograph and ISQ 7000 single quadrupole GC-MS systems in one of our recent eBooks, GC-MS for food safety analysis. 

Get your free copy here ›

2022 webinar series: Emerging topics in food analysis webinar series (on demand)

food-safety-webinars-270x193

View now the recordings of this popular webinar series from 2022.

Topics covered in this series are the analysis of food contaminates, sugars, metals, pesticide residues. Another big topic in this series was food integrity. 

Do you have questions about the content delivered in these webinars or do you want to talk to our experts about your analytical challenges? Click here to contact us and we will get back to you 

 

Contaminants in food - Sample preparation and POPs

Presentation 1: Recent Advances in Sample Prep for POPs - Learn about automated sample preparation to extract your analyte of interest, whether a pesticide, dioxin or organic pollutant in a way that is robust, reproducible and enables your lab to become more efficient by handling multiple samples and extractions at the same time. Speaker: Chris Shevlin, Thermo Fisher Scientific 

Presentation 2: Persistent organic pollutants are found everywhere around the globe. Since they are ubiquitous, they are a major issue in food analysis. GC-MS/MS can improve your sensitivity and the security of your results. Learn about the future in GC-MS/MS. Speaker: Kjell Hope, Analytical Chemist, Pacific Rim Laboratories

October 4, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Contaminants in food - Microplastics

Presentation 1: Microplastics analysis in food by µFTIR and chemical images - Watch this webinar and hear about the high adaptability of a validated method for the microplastics detection and identification in different food matrices. Speaker: Federico Benetti Ecsin LAB Director - part of Mérieux NutriSciences Group

Presentation 2: Food packaging and microplastics analyses via automated FTIR Microscopy - In this webinar the workflow, spectra, and analyses for a food packaging multi-layer film and for microplastics are presented. Speaker: Dr. Michael Bradley, Senior Product Manager, FTIR and FTIR microscopy, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Pyrolysis/GC/MS for microplastic identification - benefits of high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Speaker: Lukasz Rajski, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

October 5, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Contaminants in food - NIAS in packaging and PFAS

Non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in packaging is an issue of growing concern. First mentioned in EU Regulation 10/2011, predictable and unpredictable NIAS, in the form of degradation products and impurities, were found not only in plastic but also in paper and in newly developed materials, such as recycled and biobased packaging. In the case of recycled materials, there is a new type of NIAS. Due to the complex identification of the contamination pathway, chemicals like PFAS can be considered to be both intentionally and non-intentionally added. Some PFAS molecules are included for use and find market applications in food contact materials due to their grease- and water-proof properties. In this case they are intentionally added. This is frequent in paper packaging; and when this also has a recycled content, PFAS can be present as NIAS, originating from the intentionally added PFAS in the recycled paper fibres, or from inks, for example. Environmental contamination should also not be ignored, where PFAS can be introduced in paper packaging from water used during the recycling or manufacturing process or from the atmosphere. Distinguishing between these sources is important: new instrumental technologies and approaches are needed, not only for analytical efficiency and for performance, but also to open up the identification and quantification of what is predictable and what is not. Speaker: Andrea Vittadello, Mérieux NutriSciences Food Science Center

October 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Sugar analysis - the sweet taste of using HPAE-PAD

High performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection is a robust, sensitive and selective technique for analyzing carbohydrates, from monosaccharides up to complex glycans. In this session, fundamentals of the technique, mechanisms for detection including working and reference electrodes and how to select the right column for your sugar analysis are covered. Speaker: Dr. Detlef Jensen, Senior European Ion Chromatography Expert, Thermo Fisher Scientific

January 18, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Toxic metals in baby food and the challenge of elemental analysis

Presentation 1: Using triple quadrupole ICP-MS to improve the speed, sensitivity. and accuracy of the analysis of toxic and nutritional elements in baby foods. Speaker: Dr. Sukanya Sengupta, Application Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Extending the scope of ICP-MS to the analysis of elemental species and nanoparticles in food. Speaker: Dr. Daniel Kutscher, Product Marketing Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

January 19, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Pesticide residues analysis - Sample preparation and IC-MS

Presentation 1: Sample preparation challenges and solutions for pesticide residue analysis. Speaker: Ken Meadows, Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Analysis of ionic polar pesticides. Speaker: Wai-Chi Man, Product Marketing Manager Ion Chromatography and Sample Preparation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

March 29, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Pesticide residues analysis - Sample preparation automation and GC-MS

Presentation 1: The potential of robotics in sample preparation cleanup, dilution and calibration standards - Learn how automation can simplify the analysis in your lab utilizing RSH SMART technology, make your results safer and less cost intensive. Speaker: Daniela Cavagnino, Product Marketing Manager, GC and Automation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Pesticide residues in baby food by GC-MS - GC-MS technology in combination with QuECHERS extraction represent an ideal tool for sensitive multi-residual analysis of pesticides combining high confident detection, identification, and quantitation of pesticide residues, with a faster, generic, small-scale sample extraction procedure that can be applied to a large number of diverse pesticides in complex baby food samples. Speaker: Giulia Riccardino, Senior GC/GC-MS Applications Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

April 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Pesticide residues analysis by LC-MS

Dual-channel liquid chromatography - an easy way to improve the productivity in contract testing laboratories: Productivity and turn-around-time is a crucial requirement for a pesticide residues laboratory. Hear how to speed-up the turn-around time by the use of two independent pumps and two columns. Increase throughput of pesticide residue testing in food, using UHPLC-MS dual channel chromatography. Speaker: Łukasz Rajski, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

April 7, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Food quality testing – what you need to know

Presentation 1: Why is my pH electrode giving me trouble when I test in food samples? Speaker: Janet Thorne, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Do you really know what's in your lab water? Watch this webinar to understand the importance of pure lab water to drive consistency, repeatability and speed of analysis – and how to achieve it. Speaker: Dr. Daniel Sturm, Product Specialist, Ultra Pure Water Systems, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Are your microbes in a happy home? Watch this webinar to learn how recent advances in microbiological incubator technology can create a happy home for your microbes, improve the accuracy and reliability of your results and streamline your procedures. Speaker: Angela Visgandis, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

July 4, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and QC

Presentation 1: Milk adulteration testing by GC-FID - There are so many food frauds that are a threat to consumers. Learn about a complete GC based solution on how to detect adulteration in milk. Speaker: Daniela Cavagnino, Product Marketing Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Milk adulteration testing by ion  chromatography (IC) - Hear about workflows using IC to profile milk glycans, lactose and carbohydrates to ensure quality products. Speaker: Wai-Chi Man, Product Marketing Manager for Ion Chromatography and Sample Preparation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH) - A 10 year old topic that is still the focus of chemists all over the world. Learn about a fully automated LC/GC solution. Speaker: Jorn Hofsteenge, Analytical Support Specialist, Interscience BV, Netherlands

July 5, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and QC - Maintaining quality in the brewing process

Presentation 1: Beer off-flavours - What would you do if suddenly the taste of your beer was different? This is a big issue for manufacturers and where GC-MS analysis can help. Speaker: Spencer Britton, Research Manager, Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Athens, GA (USA)

Presentation 2: Beer integrity and quality - Beer, malt and wort testing is essential to producing a quality product, off-flavours are the way to turn your customers off your products. This webinar will show how you can work smarter and ensure the quality of your product using the Thermo Scientific Gallery Plus Beermaster discrete analyzer. Speaker: Presenter: James Hannan, Application Specialist Discrete Industrial Analyzers, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Automated and compliant nitrogen, protein, and sulfur determination for QA/QC analysis of brewery products by organic elemental analysis. Organic Elemental Analysis (OEA) is an automated analytical solution recognized by Official Associations and proven to be an alternative to the time-consuming Kjeldahl Method for protein analysis and for sample characterization in QA/QC. In this webinar, the workflow for analysis of samples from beer production by organic elemental analysis is presented, along with details regarding sample preparation. Speaker: Dr. Liliana Krotz, Application Manager OEA, Thermo Fisher Scientific

July 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and authenticity

Addressing authenticity of fish oils by online coupling of GC-IRMS with an organic mass spectrometer

As fish oils become a popular and precious source of omega-3 fatty acids, the risk of mislabeling and adulteration has risen significantly. The fatty acid profiles of different fish oils do not often allow the discrimination between different sources and geographical origins. In this study, the compound specific multi-isotope analysis of fatty acids allowed the discrimination of fish oils from different provenance, following risk-based comparisons from market experience. In the light of emerging cases of food fraud, we present how GC-MS-IRMS advanced technology can tackle these problems for addressing authenticity of fish oils. Speakers: Dr. Mario Tuthorn, Senior Product Marketing Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific & Dr. David Psomiadis, Chief Business Officer, Imprint Analytics GmbH

July 7, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Contaminants in food - Sample preparation and POPs

Presentation 1: Recent Advances in Sample Prep for POPs - Learn about automated sample preparation to extract your analyte of interest, whether a pesticide, dioxin or organic pollutant in a way that is robust, reproducible and enables your lab to become more efficient by handling multiple samples and extractions at the same time. Speaker: Chris Shevlin, Thermo Fisher Scientific 

Presentation 2: Persistent organic pollutants are found everywhere around the globe. Since they are ubiquitous, they are a major issue in food analysis. GC-MS/MS can improve your sensitivity and the security of your results. Learn about the future in GC-MS/MS. Speaker: Kjell Hope, Analytical Chemist, Pacific Rim Laboratories

October 4, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Contaminants in food - Microplastics

Presentation 1: Microplastics analysis in food by µFTIR and chemical images - Watch this webinar and hear about the high adaptability of a validated method for the microplastics detection and identification in different food matrices. Speaker: Federico Benetti Ecsin LAB Director - part of Mérieux NutriSciences Group

Presentation 2: Food packaging and microplastics analyses via automated FTIR Microscopy - In this webinar the workflow, spectra, and analyses for a food packaging multi-layer film and for microplastics are presented. Speaker: Dr. Michael Bradley, Senior Product Manager, FTIR and FTIR microscopy, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Pyrolysis/GC/MS for microplastic identification - benefits of high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Speaker: Lukasz Rajski, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

October 5, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Contaminants in food - NIAS in packaging and PFAS

Non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in packaging is an issue of growing concern. First mentioned in EU Regulation 10/2011, predictable and unpredictable NIAS, in the form of degradation products and impurities, were found not only in plastic but also in paper and in newly developed materials, such as recycled and biobased packaging. In the case of recycled materials, there is a new type of NIAS. Due to the complex identification of the contamination pathway, chemicals like PFAS can be considered to be both intentionally and non-intentionally added. Some PFAS molecules are included for use and find market applications in food contact materials due to their grease- and water-proof properties. In this case they are intentionally added. This is frequent in paper packaging; and when this also has a recycled content, PFAS can be present as NIAS, originating from the intentionally added PFAS in the recycled paper fibres, or from inks, for example. Environmental contamination should also not be ignored, where PFAS can be introduced in paper packaging from water used during the recycling or manufacturing process or from the atmosphere. Distinguishing between these sources is important: new instrumental technologies and approaches are needed, not only for analytical efficiency and for performance, but also to open up the identification and quantification of what is predictable and what is not. Speaker: Andrea Vittadello, Mérieux NutriSciences Food Science Center

October 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Sugar analysis - the sweet taste of using HPAE-PAD

High performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection is a robust, sensitive and selective technique for analyzing carbohydrates, from monosaccharides up to complex glycans. In this session, fundamentals of the technique, mechanisms for detection including working and reference electrodes and how to select the right column for your sugar analysis are covered. Speaker: Dr. Detlef Jensen, Senior European Ion Chromatography Expert, Thermo Fisher Scientific

January 18, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Toxic metals in baby food and the challenge of elemental analysis

Presentation 1: Using triple quadrupole ICP-MS to improve the speed, sensitivity. and accuracy of the analysis of toxic and nutritional elements in baby foods. Speaker: Dr. Sukanya Sengupta, Application Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Extending the scope of ICP-MS to the analysis of elemental species and nanoparticles in food. Speaker: Dr. Daniel Kutscher, Product Marketing Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

January 19, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Pesticide residues analysis - Sample preparation and IC-MS

Presentation 1: Sample preparation challenges and solutions for pesticide residue analysis. Speaker: Ken Meadows, Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Analysis of ionic polar pesticides. Speaker: Wai-Chi Man, Product Marketing Manager Ion Chromatography and Sample Preparation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

March 29, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Pesticide residues analysis - Sample preparation automation and GC-MS

Presentation 1: The potential of robotics in sample preparation cleanup, dilution and calibration standards - Learn how automation can simplify the analysis in your lab utilizing RSH SMART technology, make your results safer and less cost intensive. Speaker: Daniela Cavagnino, Product Marketing Manager, GC and Automation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Pesticide residues in baby food by GC-MS - GC-MS technology in combination with QuECHERS extraction represent an ideal tool for sensitive multi-residual analysis of pesticides combining high confident detection, identification, and quantitation of pesticide residues, with a faster, generic, small-scale sample extraction procedure that can be applied to a large number of diverse pesticides in complex baby food samples. Speaker: Giulia Riccardino, Senior GC/GC-MS Applications Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

April 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Pesticide residues analysis by LC-MS

Dual-channel liquid chromatography - an easy way to improve the productivity in contract testing laboratories: Productivity and turn-around-time is a crucial requirement for a pesticide residues laboratory. Hear how to speed-up the turn-around time by the use of two independent pumps and two columns. Increase throughput of pesticide residue testing in food, using UHPLC-MS dual channel chromatography. Speaker: Łukasz Rajski, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

April 7, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

 

Food quality testing – what you need to know

Presentation 1: Why is my pH electrode giving me trouble when I test in food samples? Speaker: Janet Thorne, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Do you really know what's in your lab water? Watch this webinar to understand the importance of pure lab water to drive consistency, repeatability and speed of analysis – and how to achieve it. Speaker: Dr. Daniel Sturm, Product Specialist, Ultra Pure Water Systems, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Are your microbes in a happy home? Watch this webinar to learn how recent advances in microbiological incubator technology can create a happy home for your microbes, improve the accuracy and reliability of your results and streamline your procedures. Speaker: Angela Visgandis, Product Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific

July 4, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and QC

Presentation 1: Milk adulteration testing by GC-FID - There are so many food frauds that are a threat to consumers. Learn about a complete GC based solution on how to detect adulteration in milk. Speaker: Daniela Cavagnino, Product Marketing Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 2: Milk adulteration testing by ion  chromatography (IC) - Hear about workflows using IC to profile milk glycans, lactose and carbohydrates to ensure quality products. Speaker: Wai-Chi Man, Product Marketing Manager for Ion Chromatography and Sample Preparation, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH) - A 10 year old topic that is still the focus of chemists all over the world. Learn about a fully automated LC/GC solution. Speaker: Jorn Hofsteenge, Analytical Support Specialist, Interscience BV, Netherlands

July 5, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and QC - Maintaining quality in the brewing process

Presentation 1: Beer off-flavours - What would you do if suddenly the taste of your beer was different? This is a big issue for manufacturers and where GC-MS analysis can help. Speaker: Spencer Britton, Research Manager, Creature Comforts Brewing Company, Athens, GA (USA)

Presentation 2: Beer integrity and quality - Beer, malt and wort testing is essential to producing a quality product, off-flavours are the way to turn your customers off your products. This webinar will show how you can work smarter and ensure the quality of your product using the Thermo Scientific Gallery Plus Beermaster discrete analyzer. Speaker: Presenter: James Hannan, Application Specialist Discrete Industrial Analyzers, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Presentation 3: Automated and compliant nitrogen, protein, and sulfur determination for QA/QC analysis of brewery products by organic elemental analysis. Organic Elemental Analysis (OEA) is an automated analytical solution recognized by Official Associations and proven to be an alternative to the time-consuming Kjeldahl Method for protein analysis and for sample characterization in QA/QC. In this webinar, the workflow for analysis of samples from beer production by organic elemental analysis is presented, along with details regarding sample preparation. Speaker: Dr. Liliana Krotz, Application Manager OEA, Thermo Fisher Scientific

July 6, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Food integrity and authenticity

Addressing authenticity of fish oils by online coupling of GC-IRMS with an organic mass spectrometer

As fish oils become a popular and precious source of omega-3 fatty acids, the risk of mislabeling and adulteration has risen significantly. The fatty acid profiles of different fish oils do not often allow the discrimination between different sources and geographical origins. In this study, the compound specific multi-isotope analysis of fatty acids allowed the discrimination of fish oils from different provenance, following risk-based comparisons from market experience. In the light of emerging cases of food fraud, we present how GC-MS-IRMS advanced technology can tackle these problems for addressing authenticity of fish oils. Speakers: Dr. Mario Tuthorn, Senior Product Marketing Specialist, Thermo Fisher Scientific & Dr. David Psomiadis, Chief Business Officer, Imprint Analytics GmbH

July 7, 2022

Available on-demand

Watch now ›

Sample preparation

Food analysis sample preparation is a key step in the analytical workflow. Sample preparation encompasses far more than liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) and solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques. 

There are several stages involved in order to get from an original food sample to the analytical sample.  

  • Sample collection, including transportation and storage should be controlled as to avoid cross contamination and potential degradation of analytes.  
  • Sample processing. This can involve a number of procedures such as cryogenically freezing, avoid analyte degradation, cutting, grinding, milling and mixing, to increase the total surface area of the sample and ensure that the analytical test portion represents the whole analytical portion.  
Sample preparation using QuEChERS

Once the food sample has been prepared the analytes have to be extracted from the matrix into a solvent.  

Automated sample preparation solutions include accelerated solvent extraction, for solid and semisolid samples using solvents at elevated temperatures and pressures, automated cartridge-based micro solid-phase extraction (µSPE) and evaporation systems. These systems help to avoid cross contamination and ensure fast turnaround times and consistent reliable results and are ideal for larger volume samples and large numbers of samples.

The most common manual technique, particularly in the case of pesticides residue analysis other contaminants in food samples, is QuEChERS. Clean-up, with the QuEChERS technique uses dispersive solid phase extraction, (dSPE) to remove undesired matrix components from the sample. 

SPE is the most common form of cartridge clean-up. When using QuEChERS or SPE clean samples can be directly injected into the analytical system.


Sample preparation how-to videos


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Solutions for food safety testing

Thermo Scientific can provide comprehensive workflow solutions, based on mass spectrometry (MS) coupled to ion chromatography (IC), liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography (GC) for the analysis of residues and contaminants. Add Inorganic mass spectrometry (ICP-MS and IRMS) for the analysis of trace elements and isotopic ratios, molecular spectroscopy, discrete analyzers, software, data management and more, and you can see that we can help you meet all of your food safety analysis challenges, today and in the future.


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Helping food professionals ensure food safety

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