Fipronil Tainted Eggs Detected in Several European Countries

Aug 9, 2017 | Blogs, Food / Beverage | 0 comments

Fipronil Contamination in Eggs

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.

What is Fipronil?

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.

What is the possible source of the Fipronil contamination?

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.

Fipronil and SCIEX

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.

Sources:

  1. https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2186488-wie-draait-op-voor-de-schade-van-de-eiercrisis.html?title=wie-draait-op-voor-de-schade-van-de-eiercrisis
  2. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/eggs-contaminated-pesticide-fipronil-europe-belgium-netherlands/
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil
  4. https://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2017/16423/update-on-fipronil-in-eggs
  5. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/fipronil-european-scandal-involves-small-number-of-eggs-distributed-in-britain_uk_59887ac6e4b041356ec13b5f

 

How SCIEX Now empowers mass spec users to work with more control, clarity and confidence

In this interview, Andy Wilcox, Senior Market Development Manager, Aftermarket and Software, speaks with Susanna Baqué, Senior Director of Global Customer Experience, about how SCIEX Now gives customers one connected digital workspace to manage instruments, reduce time spent searching for information, resolve issues faster and keep their laboratory running more efficiently and with greater confidence.

Bioanalysis across modalities: Advancing confident decisions with modern LC‑MS strategies

As therapeutic pipelines continue to diversify, bioanalysis is being asked to do more than ever before. From small molecules to complex biologics, today’s scientists must generate high‑quality, reliable data across a growing range of molecule types and workflows, often under increasing time pressure.

The rules have changed

Regulated laboratories are evolving faster than ever. New analytical modalities, higher sample throughput, increasing regulatory scrutiny, and leaner teams are reshaping how work gets done. At the same time, expectations for data integrity, standardization, and operational efficiency continue to increase complexity and/or scope. In this environment, LC-MS software is no longer simply an instrument control platform—it has become a critical part of a laboratory’s quality management system. The question is no longer whether your lab has changed, but whether your software has evolved to support the way regulated labs operate today, and if they are ready and able to meet the demands, they will face tomorrow.

Posted by

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share this post with your network