Application Handbook Food, Beverages, Agriculture - Release 2

Importance of the Topic

The rapidly growing demand for safe, high-quality food, beverages and agricultural products requires advanced analytical methods. Reliable detection of contaminants such as pesticides, mycotoxins, additives and nutritional markers is essential for public health, regulatory compliance and quality control in the food supply chain.

Objectives and Study Overview

This handbook compiles modern analytical approaches across chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, life-science instrumentation, total organic carbon analysis, materials testing and particle size measurement. It aims to illustrate practical workflows for food, beverage and agricultural applications, highlighting high-throughput QA/QC, multi-residue screening and specialty analyses such as texture or nutraceutical profiling.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Analytical strategies include:

• Gas chromatography (GC) with high-sensitivity detectors for volatile impurities in food additives and packaging gases.
• Liquid chromatography (HPLC, UHPLC) with photodiode array or refractive-index detection for sugars, polyphenols, sweeteners and aflatoxins.
• Comprehensive two-dimensional LC (LC×LC) for complex matrices like dark chocolate and red wine phenolics.
• Mass spectrometry (GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, MALDI-TOF) for confirmatory identification and multi-residue pesticide screening.
• Atomic and molecular spectroscopy (AAS, ICP-OES, FTIR, UV-Vis, EDX) for elemental and functional group analysis.
• Electrophoresis and TOC analyzers for amino acids, biogenic amines, and total carbon/nitrogen monitoring.
• Physical testing (universal testing, laser diffraction) for texture and particle size characterization.

Used Instrumentation

The key instruments referenced include:

• Shimadzu GC systems with BID detectors (Tracera) for gas purity.
• Nexera X2 UHPLC and Prominence-i HPLC systems with SPD-M30A or RID-10A detectors.
• Nexera-e 2D UHPLC with ChromSquare software for LC×LC separations.
• Shimadzu LCMS-8030 and LCMS-8050 triple-quad mass spectrometers.
• FTIR, UV-Vis spectrophotometers, AAS, ICP-OES, EDX spectrometers.
• SIL-30AC autosampler with automated derivatization modules.
• MALDI-TOF MS and electrophoresis platforms for life-science labs.
• TOC/TN analyzers and universal testing machines.

Main Results and Discussion

Representative studies demonstrated:

• Detection of trace impurities (ppm level) in ethylene and CO₂ food additives by GC-BID.
• Rapid UHPLC assays for steviol glycosides, polyphenols, methylxanthines and preservatives in foodstuffs.
• Two-step HPLC/LC-MS workflows for aflatoxin quantitation and confirmation at sub-µg/kg levels.
• High-throughput amino acid and biogenic amine profiling in dairy and biological media with automated derivatization.
• Quantitation of sugars in juices by HPLC-RID at g/L scale with high linearity.
• Comprehensive 2D LC separations of red wine polyphenols, chili pepper carotenoids and vegetable oil triglycerides, resolving dozens of components in single runs.
• Online SFE-SFC-MS approach for direct pesticide extraction and multi-residue analysis in produce without extensive sample prep.

Benefits and Practical Applications

These methods offer high sensitivity, selectivity and throughput essential for:

• Regulatory compliance under FAO/WHO, FDA, EU and national guidelines.
• Quality control in food and beverage manufacturing.
• Research into functional ingredients and nutraceuticals.
• Rapid multi-residue pesticide screening in agriculture.
• Texture and physical property assessment in novel food design.

Future Trends and Applications

Emerging directions include:

• Further integration of two-dimensional and multi-modal separations for untargeted profiling.
• Automation and AI-driven data analysis in routine QA/QC workflows.
• Miniaturized and portable MS and spectroscopy tools for on-site testing.
• Green chemistry approaches to reduce solvent use and sample prep time.
• Expanded use of SFC and supercritical extraction in complex matrix analyses.

Conclusion

The compiled applications showcase a broad analytical toolkit for modern food, beverage and agricultural laboratories. By leveraging advanced chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy and automated sample preparation, laboratories can achieve faster, more accurate, and more comprehensive analyses that address safety, quality and research needs.

Reference

Shimadzu Application Handbook: Food, Beverages and Agriculture, Release 2. Shimadzu Corporation, 2012.