Unlocking the Mystery of Pesticides CRM Stability for Food Analysis and Guide to Reference Material use in Trace Level Analysis

Unlocking the Mystery of Pesticides CRM Stability for Food Analysis

There is a growing global need for pesticide residues testing in a wide variety of food commodities. In response to this need, testing laboratories must develop versatile analytical methods and workflows in order to produce scientifically sound results which ensure the safety of our food. One of the many challenges faced by food chemists is acquiring suitable pesticide certified reference materials (CRMs) to calibrate analytical equipment, monitor method performance and confirm the identity and concentration of hundreds of pesticide residues in food samples. Questions regarding the stability of pesticide CRMs abound among users and there’s a need to educate and inform the community. CRM producers invest considerable resources to ensure the stability of their products. The authors will present proper CRM handling and storage practices as guidance to ensure stability based on the results of several multiresidue pesticide stability studies. The results of three pesticide mix stability studies will be shown demonstrating what can be expected after pesticide mix ampulesare opened and stored for use, and also when mixed togetherto prepare 200+ compound multi-residue mixesfor routine LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS laboratory analysis.

Presenter: Joe Konschnik (Business Development Manager, Food & Agriculture Market, RESTEK Corporation, Bellefonte, PA, USA)

As RESTEK’s Business Development Manager for the global Food & Agriculture market Joe applies his 37 years of analytical chemistry experience toward identifying market needs, new technologies, product opportunities and overseeing technical content development for new workflow solutions. Prior to RESTEK Joe spent 19 years working for some ofthe nation’s largest environmental testing laboratory companies as a bench chemist and in technical and laboratory operations senior management roles. Joe has been an invited speaker on sampling and analytical chemistry topics globally. He serves in volunteer leadership roles for the Independent Laboratories Institute (ILI), the American Council of Independent Labs (ACIL)’sFood Sciences Section and AOAC International. Joe is also an active member of NACRW and AOCS

Guide to Reference Material use in Trace Level Analysis

The analysis of contaminants and residues in human and animal foods presents special challenges due to the large numbers of analytes with varied chemical properties being analyzed at low concentrations in a single method. In addition, a singlemulti-residue method may be utilized to screen a wide variety of complex food, dietary supplement and environmental matrices for compliance with strict regulatory requirements. Recognizing these challenges, the Reference Materials Working Group of the North American Chemical Residue Workshop is developing a best practices guide for understanding and effectively using reference materials specific to complex trace level analysis. This presentation will introduce the guide and provide an overview of the content.

Presenter: Jo Marie Cook (former Bureau Chief, Chemical Residue Labs, Florida Department of Agriculture)

JoMarie Cook is recently retired from the Florida Department of Agriculture where she served as Bureau Chief of the Chemical Residue Laboratories.She also has been a member of the NACRW Organizing Committee for over twenty years and serves on the Board ofDirectors. She has a degree in chemistry from Michigan State University.