On Thursday 26^th November 2015, millions of households across the United States will sit down to a hearty traditional Thanksgiving meal. The Thanksgiving holiday is when people celebrate the blessings of the year, in particular the harvest. 

So what role does Mass Spec have in the Thanksgiving Menu? Well let’s take a look…

The most iconic part of the feast is the turkey: a juicy and succulent bird which when roasted to perfection is delicious. We just assume that it is safe and fit to eat, free from any dangerous bacteria if cooked accordingly, but what about those veterinary drugs the bird was given as it was reared? Those drugs could still be present no matter how thoroughly you cook it; this is where Mass Spec comes into the feast! Using our tried and test, robust and reliable QTRAP® coupled with our expertise, SCIEX has the solution for Detecting Antibiotics in Food at Trace Levels. Common drugs such as Oxytetracycline, Tetracycline and Chlortetracycline can be detected at low levels in less than 3 minutes! Our comprehensive High Resolution MS library contains >240 veterinary drug compounds to assist you in the analysis of animal tissue.   

To accompany the turkey it is traditional to serve a variety of vegetables, mashed potatoes and mashed turnips are a must, don’t forget those creamed onions. The turkey isn’t complete without some cranberry sauce on the side, maybe a celery stick too! All of these additions make the feast a mouth-watering experience for sure, however these veggies have had to been grown and produced right? Part of the cultivation process is spraying the crop with pesticides to ensure the harvest is ripe and plentiful. But you don’t want those pesticides in your dinner, the food regulation bodies ensure that farmers do not exceed the strict limits in the amount of pesticide residues are permitted in the fruit and vegetables that you buy. How do you know if the producers are abiding to the rules……the answer is Mass Spec! SCIEX can deliver the solution for high throughput routine pesticide testing, screening, quantitation and confirmation. Our exciting solutions are designed For Customers….By Customers; intuitive solutions such as the X500R QTOF Mass Spectrometer make routine pesticide testing a breeze. Factor in the SCIEX OS software platform and data processing becomes quick, efficient and accurate. There is also a comprehensive Pesticide Libraryof >550 pesticides with complete acquired spectra to compliment your analysis.

The Thanksgiving dinner isn’t complete without some New England stuffing and perhaps some buttered rolls. These additional delights almost complete the feast, but have you ever given any consideration to the ingredients? You can’t make the bread without grains, how do you know if the grains you are using are free of Mycotoxins? These can be very dangerous and can lead to serious illness or worse in some instances, but rest assured SCIEX has the solution for all your Mycotoxin testing requirements. All the key mycotoxins such as Ochratoxin A, Deoxynivakenol and Zearlenon can be analysed in our Rapid iMethod Test, a complete and validated solution to ensure low level mycotoxin detection. Not forgetting the extensive Mycotoxin Library we have available, >280 compounds to ensure you deliver the best quality data from your samples.

Some of your guests for Thanksgiving may have allergies to eggs, peanuts and milk. These common ingredients could find their way into your dinner, but don’t worry SCIEX have the solutions for Food Allergen testing too! Allergen screening methods are available to detect the signature peptides in a variety of complex matrices.   

If you still have room left for dessert then Pumpkin Pie is on the menu, but you should have no concerns about that because SCIEX have the testing solutions for every ingredient to make sure it is delicious and safe to eat.

SCIEX are dedicated to provide the solutions for food manufacturers, providers and testing laboratories in their quest to deliver the safest food so that we can all enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner.

From Everyone at SCIEX……HAPPY THANKSGIVING