Gas Chromatography?Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry in Food Analysis

A European Union reference laboratory recently created a new method for analyzing gas chromatography (GC)-amenable pesticides in foods of animal origin.

Food contact materials contain low molecular weight additives and processing aids which can migrate into foods leading to trace levels of contamination. Food safety is ensured through regulations, comprising compositional controls and migration limits, which present a significant analytical challenge to the food industry to ensure compliance and demonstrate due diligence. Of the various analytical approaches, LC-MS/MS has proved to be an essential tool in monitoring migration of target compounds into foods, and more sophisticated approaches such as LC-high resolution MS (Orbitrap) are being increasingly used for untargeted analysis to monitor non-intentionally added substances. This podcast will provide an overview to this area, illustrated with various applications showing current approaches being employed.

Here is some of the most popular content posted on LCGC International this week.

At the Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA) conference in 2024, LCGC International sat down with Stefan van Leuwen of Wageningen Food Safety Research to discuss his research, which addresses emerging challenges in circular food production, focusing on the risks posed by pollutants when waste and by-products are repurposed in food systems.

Jiangsu Police Institute scientists recently created a solid-phase microextraction (SPME)-based method for determining amphetamine-type stimulants.

In the first LCGC Blog of 2025, Caitlin Cain of the University of Michigan highlights the divide between gas and liquid chromatographers, and why both types of techniques should be in the same conversations.