Holly Lee

Sterile but toxic: Cereulide detection in food matrices

Aug 4, 2026 | Blogs, Food / Beverage | 0 comments

Read time: 2 minutes

In a recent webinar, Ming Gao, Ph.D., Senior Research Chemist at Mérieux NutriSciences, explored the growing challenge of cereulide contamination in food products and the analytical strategies needed to detect this heat-stable toxin at trace levels. The session examined how LC-MS/MS can help laboratories overcome the limitations of traditional microbiological screening and meet emerging regulatory requirements.

Missed the live event? You can watch the webinar on demand here: Watch the presentation.

Why cereulide is a growing concern

Recent infant formula contamination events have highlighted a critical food safety challenge: products can be microbiologically sterile yet still contain harmful toxins. Cereulide, produced by Bacillus cereus, can survive temperatures of up to 260°C, meaning it may remain in a product even after processing steps have successfully eliminated the bacteria that produced it. Traditional culture-based screening methods detect live microorganisms, but they cannot identify heat-stable toxins that persist after sterilization.

As regulators establish increasingly stringent action limits for cereulide in infant formula, laboratories must adopt more sensitive and selective analytical approaches to ensure consumer safety.

Achieving trace-level cereulide quantitation

During the webinar, Dr. Ming Gao shared an LC-MS/MS workflow capable of achieving a limit of quantitation of 0.05 µg/kg across multiple food matrices. To achieve this sensitivity, the approach combined SCIEX 6500+ system optimization, isotope dilution using a ^13C-labeled internal standard, and matrix-specific sample preparation strategies tailored for ARA oil, powders, infant formula, and other challenging food matrices.

The method delivered recoveries of 87–103% at the LOQ and demonstrated robust performance across a two-day validation study, showing that routine laboratories can successfully monitor cereulide at the trace levels required by evolving regulations.

Key takeaways from the webinar

The session highlighted three important lessons for food testing laboratories and manufacturers:

Sterile does not always mean safe. Heat-stable toxins can remain even when no live bacteria are detected.
Method sensitivity is matrix dependent. Different food matrices require tailored extraction and cleanup strategies.
Trace-level regulations are driving the need for more advanced analytical workflows and improved standardization across laboratories.

Watch the webinar on demand

As food manufacturers and testing laboratories face increasing pressure to monitor contaminants at lower levels, advanced LC-MS/MS methods are becoming essential for detecting compounds that traditional microbiological methods may miss.

To learn more about cereulide quantitation in complex food matrices and see the complete workflow presented by Dr. Ming Gao, watch the webinar on demand: Connecting microbiology and toxicology: LC-MS/MS methods for Cereulide quantitation in food matrices.

Additional resources

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Holly Lee

Holly completed her PhD with Prof. Scott Mabury at the University of Toronto, studying the biological and environmental processes governing the fate of novel PFAS during consumer disposal. Upon graduation, Holly worked for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks as a senior analytical technologist, where she was responsible for method development for environmental organic contaminants. After moving to SCIEX, she worked in R&D for hardware and software products before transitioning to her current role in global technical marketing for food LC-MS/MS applications.

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