Food and Beverage Analysis

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed that acrylamide in food can potentially increase the risk of developing cancer for consumers across all age groups.

A team of scientists from the University of Muenster and the University of Siegen in Germany has demonstrated the use of low temperature plasma desorption/ionization orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LTP?Orbitrap?HR?MS) for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruit.

Scientists from Emory University (Georgia, USA) have developed a new solid–phase extraction (SPE) method to isolate four insecticide degradates from baby food for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS–MS). The paper published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry describes how the method can be applied to differentiate between exposure to insecticides or preformed degradates.

Agilent Technologies

Red wine could help to protect against oral cavities, according to research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.1 The team used ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry together with electrospray ionization (UHPLC–ESI–MS–MS) to analyze phenolic compounds found in the sampled red wine.

This application note demonstrates how comprehensive 2D-LC can be used to resolve the complex mixture of hydrophilic phenols found in virgin olive oil and investigates differences in the phenol composition of several olive oils.

Environmental and food analysis concerns have been a hot-button issue for several years. Scientists are continually working to improve the methods and equipment used for analysis in these fields, so this technical session will surely be of high interest to many. This session will start late Monday morning at 10:50 a.m. and will be chaired by Stephen Weber of the University of Pittsburgh.

The complexity of many food samples places a great demand in terms of both separation capabilities and specificity of detection. In this article, a novel system for fully automated comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC?LC) is discussed.

A team of scientists in Portugal and Spain have performed high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC– FLD) to show that marinating pork meat in beer can reduce the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formed when grilled over charcoal.

Food for human consumption and animal feedstuffs contain a variety of mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides with different functions. In this article specific liquid chromatographic (LC) systems (column, mobile phase, and detector), which are used to determine different carbohydrates in food and feed matrices, are described.

Food provides the body with energy and good food is indispensable for a healthy life.

This article is focused on the detailed qualitative analysis of the fatty acids and the unsaponifiable constituents of a vegetable oil derived from a food-industry waste product, namely lemon seeds.

If food flavor is not as expected, it can damage consumer confidence and give the perception of poor quality. Setting analytical standards of what constitutes an acceptable flavor can be challenging, and while methods based on total volatiles or specific marker compounds can be a useful quality control check, a more investigative approach is often required.

Advances in nano-ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (nUHPLC) and "plug-and-play" micro-UHPLC (?UHPLC) for the detection of veterinary drugs and steroids in porcine meat and urine respectively are described.

Edible oils and fats are complex mixtures of compounds. To understand the properties of an oil or fat, information on groups of molecules, as well as individual molecules, is needed.

Dr Sastia Prama Putri of Osaka University, Japan, spoke to Kate Mosford of The Column about advances in metabolomics, the need for authentication of high value food products, and the important role of GC–MS in food analysis.

Click here to view the complete E-Separation Solutions newsletter from April 25, 2014.

The 2015 budget for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will rise by 8.1% over the 2014 budget.

A look at the various strategies and tools related to metabolomics applied to food and nutrition

The potential to accurately and rapidly measure hundreds of individual molecular species provides novel opportunities for food science and nutrition. For food and nutrition researchers, metabolomics, the screening of small-molecule metabolites, enables the molecular fingerprinting of food components. This article describes the various applications, strategies, and tools related to metabolomics in food analysis.

This article details how a newly developed ?dilute-and-shoot? sample preparation methodology for LC–MS–MS multi-residue monitoring (MRM) pesticide screening can enable operators to overcome the matrix effects that have traditionally hindered routine food analysis.

Kate Mosford of The Column about the importance of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in food analysis.

UCT, LLC

Here, a method to characterize edible oils and edible oil mixtures through fingerprinting and the isolation of individual analyte differences is reported. Aroma and flavor analytes in extra virgin olive, olive, peanut, grapeseed, and vegetable oils were sampled with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME).

This Wednesday morning session will be presided over by Joe Romano of Waters Corporation.

This Tuesday afternoon session was arranged by Perry G. Wang of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) and Mark F. Vitha of Drake University.

The 6th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA 2013) kept attendees up to speed on the latest trends in food analysis.

Fusel alcohols, a common byproduct of fermentation, in abnormal quantities or types can indicate alcoholic beverage adulteration.

The analysis of pesticide residues in food samples from the state of Connecticut's regulatory monitoring program are compared to USDA and US FDA results.

Click here to view the complete E-Separation Solutions newsletter from January 28, 2014.