Application Notes: Food and Beverage

U.S. EPA Method 531.2 describes the determination of widely used carbamate pesticides in raw surface water using HPLC with fluorescence detection following postcolumn derivatization, which enhances method sensitivity and selectivity as compared to UV absorbance detection.

Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids are essential compounds required for normal growth. Omega-3 consumption is purported to have a number of health benefits, e.g., cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease prevention, and improved immune function. Although both omega-3 and -6 fatty acids can give rise to eicosanoid-signaling molecules (prostaglandins, prostacyclins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes), the omega-6 eicosanoids are generally proinflammatory. A person's diet requires a balance of omega fatty acids at suitable levels.

The benefits of olive oil as part of a healthy diet reaches back to the 1950's. Methods were developed to determine benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes and styrene (BTEXS) by static headspace methods.

Various triarylmethane and fluorescent dyes are used in aquaculture as antibacterial, antifungal, and anthelmintic agents for the treatment of fish disease. The FDA has banned the importation of certain fish from several countries due to possible contamination of these food products.

By identifying maturation tracers and molecules commonly responsible for taste defects, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) augments expert opinion with objective and quantitative information. When using a solid phase micro extraction (SPME) method, GC–MS requires very small sample sizes and a minimum of sample preparation while providing rapid analysis of target molecules. GC–MS can provide an automated technique with repeatable results for detecting all of these compounds.

Blueberries are extracted into acidified methanol and analyzed for anthocyanins with a methanol/formic acid gradient via UHPLC/MS; four different Agilent ZORBAX RRHD stationary phases are quickly evaluated.

The types and amounts of sugar in animal feeds are as important as the amount of protein, minerals, and fats in the determination of nutritive value. We developed a simple and sensitive HPLC method for analyzing six sugars in animal feeds – sucrose, fructose, glucose, galactose, maltose, and lactose. Post-column derivatization reagents convert reducing and nonreducing sugars into fluorescent derivatives, which greatly improves the sensitivity and selectivity of the detection.

The iDQuant? Standards Kit for pesticide analysis of certified reference material (ISP Guide 34, IOS/IEC 17025, and ISO 9001:2008) includes 204 pesticides in 10 mixes at a concentration of 100 ?g/mL. This kit has been designed to eliminate the need to source pesticides individually, and measure each one manually. This allows users to setup, verify, and validate the performance of pesticide screening methods faster.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) extracts are high in anthocyanin content and are widely used in nutritional supplements for improving visual acuity and treating circulatory disorders.

The popularity of diet soft drinks containing aspartame requires the analysis of thousands of samples for quality control purposes each year. These analyses are typically carried out with some fraction of organic modifier in the eluent, leading to the generation of thousands of gallons of hazardous organic waste. This note shows the "green" analysis of several commercial diet soft drinks in combination with a 100% water mobile phase.

In December 2008, the United States FDA recognized rebaudioside A (reb. A) purified from Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) as a sugar substitute in foods. As a result, stevia products have become popular tabletop and beverage sweeteners. Two steviol glycosides, stevioside and reb. A, are largely responsible for the desired sweet flavor, with reb. A preferred for sweeteners (1).

The method described employs a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with hyperbolic quadrupole rods for increased selectivity to prerform a trace level screening method for PCDD/Fs and PCBs and follows the well-established United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Method 1613A.

The QuEChERS method of food sample preparation was used in conjunction with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC–TOFMS) to successfully identify PAH contaminants spiked in liquid commercial infant formula.

AGPC column and organic solvents are used to selectively pass large macro molecules such as lipids, resins, waxes, and other compounds from sample extracts while retaining the smaller target analyte molecules in the pores of the gel.

Sweeteners are low or zero-calorie sugar substitutes that are added in drinks to provide the sweet taste of sucrose or table sugar.

This application note demonstrates the extraction of sour cream, cream cheese, coffee creamer, heavy whipping cream, and low fat milk using an ASE 350 Accelerated Solvent Extractor technique developed by Dionex and compares results to the traditional Mojonnier technique.

A modified QuEChERS-type extraction method is used with an additional concentration step to detect 38 anthelmintic (nematicides, flukicides, endectocides) drug residues, consisting of benzimidazoles, avermectins, and flukicides in milk. UHPLC–MS-MS instrumentation detects most analytes at <1 µg/kg.

With Americans becoming increasingly health conscious and concerned with their exposure to chemicals, businesses have made movements to create more products that are safer for the consumer and the environment.

Aflatoxins occur naturally in peanuts, cottonseed, corn, and dried chili pepper, as well as many mixed or processed foods and feeds.

This article describes a straightforward ion chromatographic method that uses isocratic elution and pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) to sensitively determine water-soluble polyols and sugar alcohols as well as mono-, di- and oligosaccharides in essential and nonessential foodstuffs.

In food, organic acids originate from the natural biochemistry processes or are added as preservatives, acidulants and stabilizers.

Naringenin, a chiral flavonoid found in several fruit juices, is well known for its beneficial health-related properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating activities. The HPLC and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) enantioselective separation of (R,S)-Naringenin has been performed on both analytical and semi-preparative scale using an amylose derived RegisPack CSP.

There are currently several hormones and hormonelike agents with marked ability to improve the rate of growth and efficiency of feed intake for animals.

Furan is naturally occurring at low levels in many foods and drinks (1).

Coffees have aroma and taste based on where the beans are grown, roasting techniques, and flavor additives.

Agilent Poroshell 120, a superficially porous particle column, offers resolution and speed similar to columns packed with 1.8-µm totally porous particles, without generating high back pressure.

This paper describes the use of the AB SCIEX TripleTOFTM 5600 LC–MS-MS system for targeted and nontargeted screening for pesticide residue in food samples.

Aflatoxins occur naturally in peanuts, cottonseed, corn, and dried chili pepper, as well as many mixed or processed foods and feeds.