Scott Krepich

The analysis of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in food samples, along with an optional additional solid-phase extraction (SPE) clean-up for even more sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), is demonstrated in this article.

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are routinely detected in a variety of aquatic environments and these compounds encompass a wide range of chemical and physical properties that contribute to their combined analytical screening challenges. Further examination of their accumulation throughout environmental samples that contain solids, including sediments, adds additional levels of analytical difficulties in their effective extraction and new sample matrix interferences. QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) has become a very popular extraction and cleanup technique for the analysis of multiresidue pesticides in agricultural and food samples. Applying the same principles to overcome similar challenges in PPCP analysis in solid environmental samples is demonstrated in this article.

The implementation of the FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) and the continued globalization of the food supply have increased the need for improved analytical methods for quality and safety testing. Food safety and quality requirements are increasingly stringent, as are consumer expectations. In addition to new methods, the industry continues to look for improvements in laboratory productivity and new ways to reduce costs. These trends extend to dietary supplements and natural products. This article discusses the current state of efforts to modernize US Pharmacopeia (USP) compendial methods to take advantage of new chromatography technology, including the use of “allowable adjustments”.