Food Safety Solutions - Application Data Book

Importance of the topic

The analysis of trace contaminants in food is essential to safeguard public health, ensure regulatory compliance and support international trade. Advances in chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques have enabled detection of a broad range of chemical residues and environmental pollutants in complex food matrices at ever lower levels.

Objectives and study overview

This collection of application notes illustrates Shimadzu’s Food Safety Solutions, detailing methods for the determination of:

• Ethyl carbamate in wine by heart-cut multidimensional GC-MS (MDGC/GC-MS).
• 50-plus pesticide residues in hotpot seasoning, grapes, spinach, ginger, lettuce, onion and Chinese chive using GC-MS/MS with QuEChERS or SPE cleanup.
• Organochlorine pesticides in milk powder by on-line GPC-GC-MS/MS.
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in edible oil via liquid–solid extraction and GC-MS/MS.

Instrumentation Used

Key instrumentation across these methods includes:

• GC-MS/MS systems: Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 Ultra and GCMS-TQ8030/8040.
• Triple-quadrupole LC-MS/MS: Shimadzu LCMS-8030, LCMS-8040 and LCMS-8050.
• Multidimensional GC: Shimadzu UFMS series with UFsweeper collision cells.
• Sample-preparation platforms: QuEChERS and SPE (C18, NH2, GCB) cartridges, Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), PTV inlets.

Methodology and sample preparation

Common features across the workflows:

• Extraction: Organic solvent extraction (acetonitrile or hexane) often combined with salting-out or liquid–liquid partitioning.
• Cleanup: Dispersive SPE (PSA, C18, GCB), on-line GPC or dual SPE columns to remove fats, pigments and other matrix interferences.
• Instrumental acquisition: Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for enhanced selectivity and sensitivity; selected-ion monitoring (SIM) for targeted compounds.
• Calibration: Matrix-matched standards or stable-isotope internal standards to compensate for matrix effects.

Main results and discussion

Across all methods, the figures of merit demonstrate high performance:

• Linearity: Correlation coefficients (R²) ≥0.995 over wide calibration ranges (ng/L to µg/L levels).
• Sensitivity: Limits of detection generally below 1–2 µg/kg for pesticides and below 0.1 µg/kg for PAHs and ethyl carbamate.
• Precision: Repeatability (%RSD) typically <5%–8% for replicates at low levels.
• Recovery: Average recoveries in the range of 70%–120% across multiple food matrices.

Benefits and practical applications

These robust methods deliver:

• High throughput: Ultra-fast polarity switching and high-speed MRM transitions accelerate sample analysis.
• Reliability: Automated MRM optimization and interchangeable consumables reduce downtime.
• Versatility: Applicable to diverse matrices (beverages, oils, produce, dairy and condiments).
• Regulatory compliance: Capable of meeting stringent MRLs in global markets (EU, US, Japan, China).

Future trends and opportunities

Continued evolution is expected in areas such as:

• High-resolution MS and data-independent acquisition for non-targeted screening.
• Miniaturized and automated sample-preparation platforms.
• Integration with laboratory information management systems (LIMS) for rapid data review.
• Machine learning-based data processing to further reduce analysis time and enhance reliability.

Conclusion

Shimadzu’s Food Safety Solutions demonstrate that advanced GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS techniques, combined with targeted cleanup strategies, enable highly sensitive, precise and reliable analysis of a wide range of contaminants in complex food matrices. These methods support fast, routine monitoring and help laboratories meet global regulatory requirements.

References

No specific literature references were provided in the source material.