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Aug 9, 2017 | Blogs, Food / Beverage | 0 comments
News agencies all over the world are reporting a new food contamination issue regarding eggs which have been found to contain residues of Fipronil. According to Nieuwsuur, a Dutch news, and current affairs program, “The Fipronil scandal is a huge blow to the poultry sector. Millions of eggs are destroyed and 138 companies remain tentatively closed. But supermarkets also face great damage. In recent days all contaminated eggs have been taken out of the shelves.” CBS news has reported that contaminated eggs have been discovered in Belgium and in the Netherlands with other European countries now on alert.
Fipronil is an insecticide which belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family, it is used in the application of flea, cockroach and ant control. It is the main active ingredient in many flea prevention pet care products. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classed Fipronil as class II moderately hazardous pesticide.
According to the Food Standards Agency (non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom), Fipronil has been used inappropriately in the cleaning of products used in the farming process on chicken farms. Furthermore, it states that Fipronil is not authorized for the use as a veterinary medicine or pesticide around food producing animals.
The detection of Fipronil in food products can quickly and accurately be achieved using the Mass Spectrometry solutions from SCIEX, showcased in a recent webinar on the Validating the Routine Use of High-Resolution Q-TOF LC-MS/MS for the Analysis of Pesticides in Baby Food”. The unique feature of this workflow is that the data was acquired using SWATH® Acquisition.
Why is SWATH so important? Well, the answer is that SWATH scans for all detectable analytes within a sample. Therefore in the analysis of eggs, if you were running a SWATH workflow even if you were not intentionally analyzing for Fipronil, you would still detect it and other potential compounds present which may have been omitted from your targeted workflow.Watch the webinar on how Fipronil and other pesticides are detected using the X500R >
You may also be interested in this vast high-resolution accurate library of pesticide analytes which includes accurate mass spectra for Fipronil and hundreds of other pesticides, you can also download a free MS XIC list here.
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In a recent webinar, which is now available on-demand, Holly Lee powerful strategies to tackle complex residue testing. From boosting throughput to fine-tuning method sensitivity, Holly shared key ways to maximize performance across large pesticide panels.
Whether we are raising glasses of rosé in a vineyard in France or enjoying a lager in a casual street restaurant in China, it is likely that the last thing on many people’s minds is the chemical risks from their beverage. Unless you work in food science, then it might actually be the first thing.
As PFAS regulations tighten globally, laboratory managers are navigating a complex economic landscape. Whether operating in a commercial or non- commercial setting, the pressure to deliver accurate, defensible, and timely PFAS data is mounting. At SCIEX we understand that the right technology can turn this regulatory challenge into a strategic opportunity.
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