GEN-MKT-18-7897-A
Oct 5, 2017 | Blogs, Food / Beverage | 0 comments
Since my last blog, there has been an ongoing investigation into the widespread impact of contaminated egg products. According to The Grocer, 26 more egg foods were pulled from shelves in the fipronil scandal, bringing the total number to 69 products. Additionally, the UK Food Standards Agency issued a recalled list due to potential contaminations including food items such as cake mixture, deli fillers, profiteroles, and waffles. It should be noted, however, that despite the recall, they reportedly pose little risk to the public.
The United States, Russia, South Africa, the Dutch Antilles, Turkey, Iraq, Norway, Israel, and Canada along with 26-member states of the of the 28 European Union member state, meanwhile have also reported the detection of fipronil in food products.1
Fipronil Testing in Food LabsSince fipronil is now a common topic amongst mainstream news outlets, there is much attention from consumers needing reassurance that the products which they buy and serve up at the family dinner table are safe. As such, there is a growing demand on food testing laboratories to analyze eggs and associated products quickly and accurately, so products are given the green light before they enter supply.
In response, SCIEX partnered with Phenomenex and TLR International Laboratories to produce a comprehensive application note entitled, “Rapid LC-MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Fipronil and Amitraz Insecticides and Associated Metabolites in Egg and Other Poultry Products.”
The developed assay uses a modified QuEChERS sample preparation method for the extraction of the egg and poultry matrices. Chromatography was thus performed using a reversed phase water/methanol gradient at a complete runtime of 7 mins injection to injection using a Kinetex Polar 2.6 μm C18 100 x 2.1 mm column from Phenomenex (Part No. 00D-4759-AN). Mass spectrometry was performed using a SCIEX 6500+ Triple Quad™.
The Take Away: The assay discussed in this application note demonstrates that it is possible to reach the MRL level of 5μg/kg for all analytes within a runtime of just 7 minutes.
1.https://nltimes.nl/2017/09/05/fipronil-contaminated-eggs-found-45-countries
Finding the right information shouldn’t slow you down. Whether you’re troubleshooting your mass spec, learning something new, or optimizing performance, access to the right resources at the right moment makes all the difference.
As an analytical strategy, middle-down mass spectrometry (MS) workflows characterize biotherapeutic proteins by analyzing large, digested protein fragments or defined subunits, rather than fully intact proteins (top-down) or digested peptides (bottom-up). A middle-down strategy combines the strengths of top-down and bottom-up approaches by delivering high sequence coverage and structural specificity while maintaining relatively simple sample preparation. In practice, middle-down analysis enables accurate mass measurement, rapid sequence confirmation, and localization of key post-translational modifications (PTMs) on protein subunits that are directly relevant to product quality.
In biopharmaceutical development, sequence variants (SV) are considered an inherent risk of producing complex proteins in living systems. Sequence variants are unintended changes to the amino acid sequence of a biotherapeutic and can be caused by errors in transcription or translation in the host cell, or cell culture and process conditions. Detailed analysis of SVs is important in process and product development to ensure the drug’s safety and efficacy. Even low‑level sequence variants can have significant implications for product quality, safety, and efficacy, making their accurate detection and characterization a critical requirement across development, process optimization, and regulatory submission.
Posted by
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Share this post with your network