ARS | Publication request: RAPID ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD

Submitted to: Proceedings of Pittcon Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 1, 2006
Publication Date: March 17, 2006
Citation: Lehotay, S.J. 2006. RAPID ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN FOOD. Proceedings of Pittcon Meeting.

Technical Abstract: In routine monitoring of chemical residues in food, highly rapid analyses are a worthwhile goal, but the real challenges are fast sample turn-around time and high sample throughput, which also entail sample handling, sample preparation, analytical separation, detection, quantitation, identification, data processing, quality assurance, and reporting of the results. All of these steps are needed in typical regulatory monitoring applications for pesticides, veterinary drugs, environmental contaminants and other chemicals of concern in foods. The typical regulatory needs for the analysis of pesticides in fruits and vegetables, for example, entail monitoring hundreds of diverse analytes in scores of sample types, ideally on a daily basis. Rapid screening approaches in the field are just not feasible in this type of application at this time. The state of the art approach employs the “quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe” (QuEChERS) method for sample preparation (including dispersive-SPE cleanup) followed by analyses using a combination of LC/MS-MS with the echo-peak technique and fast-GC/MS with analyte protectants and automated direct sample introduction. MS data deconvolution speeds and aids analyte identification in GC/MS and LIMS-based data processing and reporting can improve upon the typical limiting steps in the process (data review and reporting). Real-world laboratories have the goal to use this approach to analyze 80,000 samples per year for >200 residues in most food types with typical sample turn-around times of 4 hours. This presentation will describe how this goal can be met, and how the concepts can also be adapted in other applications.