Food Safety Applications Notebook - Agricultural Chemical Contaminants

Significance of Integrated Chromatographic Solutions for Agricultural Contaminants

Ensuring the safety of global food supplies requires rapid, reliable detection of pesticides, veterinary drugs, and other agricultural contaminants in foods and feeds. Integrated chromatographic systems and streamlined workflows minimize time, solvent use, and analyst effort while meeting stringent regulatory requirements.

Objectives and Scope

This atlas of application notes demonstrates Thermo Fisher Scientific’s portfolio covering UHPLC, ion chromatography (IC), mass spectrometry (MS), sample preparation, and data management software. It illustrates how these technologies address common challenges in analyzing pesticides and veterinary drugs in diverse matrices including fruits, vegetables, infant foods, and animal feeds.

Methodologies and Instrumentation

• Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE): Automated extraction at elevated temperature/pressure reduces extraction time (12–20 min) and solvent volumes (15–50 mL), replacing Soxhlet and sonication.
• Dionex UltiMate 3000 UHPLC+: Modular systems covering nano to semipreparative flows (20 nL–10 mL/min), up to 1000 bar, data rates to 200 Hz.
• Ion Chromatography (IC) and Reagent-Free IC: Systems from ICS-900 to ICS-5000 provide electrolytic eluent generation, integrated suppression, and MS compatibility.
• LC/MS and IC/MS Coupling: MSQ Plus single-quad MS with self-cleaning source; Chromeleon 7 software enables unified control, data acquisition, and reporting.
• Sample Preparation Platforms: ASE 200/350, AutoTrace SPE, QuEChERS-style dispersive SPE for cleanup of pesticides and veterinary drugs.

Key Findings and Discussion

• ASE reliably extracted organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides from high-water foods (bananas, potatoes) with recoveries of 89–105% and RSD < 10% at levels of 50–100 µg/kg.
• Large-volume ASE cells (100 mL) enabled direct extraction of baby foods and grains fortified with dozens of pesticides, matching traditional methods while cutting analysis time by 75%.
• Veterinary drugs (sulfonamides) in infant foods and tissues were extracted using water-based ASE, followed by C18 sorbent cleanup, achieving recoveries of 84–101% and LOQs < 5 ppb.
• N-Methylcarbamates in rice, potatoes, and corn were determined by UHPLC-FLD with postcolumn OPA derivatization. QuEChERS-style extraction and PSA cleanup yielded recoveries > 85% and MDLs < 1 µg/kg.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Automated ASE and dSPE workflows improve lab throughput and reduce solvent consumption by up to 80%.
• Integrated UHPLC, IC, and MS platforms facilitate multi-residue screening across diverse analyte classes in a single run.
• Chromeleon 7 and Pickering PCX derivatizer streamline method development, instrument control, and data reporting, enhancing compliance and traceability.

Future Trends and Potential Use Cases

• Expanded use of miniaturized and ultrafast chromatography to meet high-throughput screening demands in food safety and environmental monitoring.
• Broader adoption of on-line process analytical technology (PAT) for real-time monitoring of agricultural products and production lines.
• Integration of advanced MS detectors (Q-TOF, Orbitrap) for suspect screening and non-targeted analysis of emerging contaminants.
• Development of greener sample prep approaches (solvent-free, microextraction) aligned with sustainability goals.

Conclusion

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s comprehensive suite—automated ASE, UHPLC, IC, MS, and software—offers robust, high-throughput solutions for detecting pesticides and veterinary drugs in food and feed. These integrated workflows combine speed, sensitivity, and versatility to address current and future analytical challenges in food safety.

Reference

Thermo Fisher Scientific Application Notes and U.S. EPA Methods: 3545A (ASE waste), 531.2 (carbamates), 300.0 (anions), 300.1 (inorganics), 8330 (explosives).