Food and Beverage Analysis

Jim Garvey of the Pesticide Control Laboratory in Ireland discusses the development of pesticide analysis methods with high-resolution accurate mass MS.

In food analysis, many different biological matrices are investigated containing numerous compounds that can interfere with liquid chromatographyÐmass spectrometry (LC–MS) analysis. To overcome the challenges that arise with these highly complex matrices, the additional separation of analytes and matrix compounds complementing chromatographic separation is becoming more significant. In this article, the potential of IM-MS to increase selectivity and for additional identity confirmation is investigated. An extensive evaluation of IM-MS instruments was performed on a broad test set of food safety contaminants. The tested IM-MS platforms were DMS, TWIMS, low field DTIMS, and TIMS. CCS data were determined using the different instruments, and the ability to separate isomers and compounds of interest from sample matrix in the IM dimension was explored.

This article describes open access sofware for the modelling and prediction of retention times in gas and liquid chromatography. This software provides useful results for food analysis.

This study assesses whether two commonly used plastic packaging materials are safe for use using liquid chromatography (LC) with high-resolution acccurate mass spectrometry (HRAMS) and data‑independent acquisition (DIA).

LCGC Europe interviewed Stefan van Leeuwen from Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), in Wageningen, The Netherlands, on his novel multi-analyte approach to investigate bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), and their analogues using liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS).

Carlos Sales and Joaquin Beltrán from The Research Institute for Pesticides and Water at the University Jaume I, in Castellón, Spain, discuss a novel untargeted gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method, incorporating dynamic headspace (DHS) with thermal desorption and a novel deconvolution approach, to classify olive oil.

Heatwaves are significantly affecting the consistency and quality of wine production. The Column spoke to Julia C. Gouot from the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre in Australia about the importance of chromatography to understand the effects of temperature change on grape physiology and composition.

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.

In this study, chemicals extracted from a food packaging plastic film with a series of organic solvents were tentatively identified with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOF–MS). A total of 91 compounds were tentatively identified in the film extracts, based on high mass spectral matching with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) mass spectral (MS) library.

This method showed excellent precision and accuracy for the 12 FDA regulated mycotoxins that were evaluated during a validation study that covered a variety of matrices.

Chemical fingerprinting can provide evidence for quality differences resulting from botanical and geographical origins of primary food ingredients, post-harvest practices, production processes (such as traditional versus industrial processes), and the shelf-life evolution of finished products. This article discusses the strategic role and potential of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) and pattern recognition using template matching for data processing to unravel the quality traits of high-quality food products. Practical examples dealing with high-quality cocoa and extra-virgin olive oil are described.

Chemical fingerprinting can provide evidence for quality differences resulting from botanical and geographical origins of primary food ingredients, post-harvest practices, production processes (such as traditional versus industrial processes), and the shelf-life evolution of finished products. This article discusses the strategic role and potential of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) and pattern recognition using template matching for data processing to unravel the quality traits of high-quality food products. Practical examples dealing with high-quality cocoa and extra-virgin olive oil are described.

In the early days of dioxin analysis, applied methods were laboratory- and time-consuming. Only GC–HRMS, which is complicated, was used. Nowadays, GC–MS/MS is suitable for control proposes. Using GC–MS/MS means that solvent consumption for sample preparation can be reduced by a factor of 10 and the purity of the obtained fraction can be enhanced, indicating that GC–MS/MS is appropriate for dioxin analysis.

Ten years since its official definition, foodomics continues to expand the scientific knowledge of food and nutrition while resolving many analytical challenges along the way. LCGC Europe spoke to Alejandro Cifuentes from the Institute of Food Science Research, in Madrid, Spain, about his current foodomics research projects, the overall state of the field, and the future of foodomics.

Traditional sample preparation method development can often be laborious and costly. Understanding the underlying concepts of the technique can help food and environmental laboratories develop methods in notoriously complex matrices, faster, more efficiently, and provide better chromatography. With the presence of many unique matrices and analytes, methods such as QuEChERS, supported liquid extraction (SLE), or solid-phase extraction (SPE) provide the necessary adaptability for many types of extractions. With customizable methods to work with unique matrices and with the addition of automation, extractions can be improved to save time and provide consistent recoveries.

This method showed excellent precision and accuracy for the 12 FDA regulated mycotoxins that were evaluated during a validation study that covered a variety of matrices.

Pickering Laboratories developed an analytical method to comply with all the chromatographic requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) No 152-2009.

When analytical chemists apply green chemistry approaches, which seek to minimize negative environmental effects, an important area of focus is reducing the consumption of toxic solvents, such as those used in extraction steps in sample preparation. Developing and testing greener extraction processes for food analysis is a major focus of Elena Ibáñez, a research professor at the Institute of Food Science Research (CIAL-CSIC) in Madrid, Spain.

Analytical separation techniques based on the differential migration velocities of analytes under the action of an electric field are gaining increasing acceptance for the analysis of phenolic compounds in edible and medicinal plants and in plant-derived food products. In Part 2 of this review article the authors discuss the fundamental principles and practical aspects of electromigration techniques, including capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The development of two-dimensional systems, performed by coupling either liquid chromatography (LC) with an electromigration technique or two electromigration techniques, operated under different separation mechanisms, is also discussed.

Carcinogen-containing compounds can develop through some manufacturing processes, such as in the malting process for beer. It is critical to analyze the nitrosamine content in any consumed products as well as monitor the final product. Thermal energy analysis (TEA) is able to quickly identify and analyze N-Nitro, N-nitroso, and nitrogen-containing compounds. This article describes the importance of monitoring these compounds.

This article highlights three events that require new method development to meet various detection needs, ranging from the detection of pesticides such as fipronil and glyphosate, to the detection and quantification of fat-soluble vitamins.

Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, in Gothenburg, Sweden, have investigated whether plasma amino acid levels differed among children with celiac disease using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) (1).

The Column spoke to Ricardo Lopez from the University of Zaragoza, in Spain, about his work characterizing the composition of the vapours from wine during consumption using an automated gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) technique.