Routine cannabis screening is here. Will your lab reap the benefits? by Paul Winkler | 0 CommentsFast, accurate, and robust solution for routine commercial cannabis testing As the world debates cannabis legalization for therapeutic applications and recreational use, the trends are shifting. Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in an increasing number of countries worldwide, including 33 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis in 2013. In the United States, Washington and Colorado were the first to fully legalize cannabis in 2012. By the end of 2019, 10 states have legalized recreational use for adults over the age of 21, with 64% of Americans favoring the move
Hemp, marijuana, CBD and THC: what’s the difference? by Paul Winkler | 0 CommentsCannabis refers to a genus of flowering plants originating from Asia.1 It's also an umbrella term that includes both marijuana plants and hemp plants, among others. With the flurry of legalization across the United States, CBD and THC derived products have been thrown...
Mysterious Vaping Detectives Part 2 by Paul Winkler | 0 CommentsIn our last blog, I gave you some current highlights about the mysterious vaping illness that was making headlines (and still is). The condition now known as, e-cigarette or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) has sickened thousands and killed 57...
A year of cannabis in Canada. Where are we and what’s next? by Paul Winkler | 0 CommentsIt’s been a momentous year for the cannabis industry in Canada. Not only did the country legalize cannabis with the Canadian cannabis law in October 2018, but it has also taken a giant leap in setting up a multi-billion dollar market from scratch. The progress made...
Mycotoxin concerns amidst a pandemic: a discussion on how to optimize your food safety analysis by Matt Noestheden | Blogs, Food / BeverageRead time: 4 Minutes The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need to store and transport raw and finished food products in order to sustain the richness of the food supply chain. Therefore, having a robust post-harvest support system that monitors moisture levels and...
The honey sting by Katherine Hyland | Blogs, Food / BeverageAs a consumer it’s hard for me not to feel inundated with claims that our food is “all-natural” or “chemical-free” or that we should buy certain “superfoods” for their health benefits. We read labels and trust that the product we are buying is what we are truly...
Accurate mass LC-MS/MS for PFAS analysis without needing a blockbuster budget by Craig Butt | Blogs, Environmental / Industrial, Food / BeverageIf you’ve been following our recent blogs, you’ve probably seen quite a bit on how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are shaking up both the food and environmental industry. Even if you’ve not been following our blogs, you’ve probably seen a lot of media...
A rising star in food allergen research: proteomics of shellfish allergen by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / Beverage, Life Science Research, ProteomicsIt’s important to know what you’re eating, especially if you suffer from a food allergy. About 220 million people worldwide live with a food allergy.1 These numbers, along with the complexity and severity of conditions, continue to rise. In America, there are about 32 million food allergy sufferers—5.6 million of those are children under the age of 18.2.2 That’s 1 out of every 13 children, or about 2 in every classroom. From a financial perspective, the cost of food allergy childcare for US families is up to $25 billion
Routine cannabis screening is here. Will your lab reap the benefits? by Paul Winkler | Blogs, Food / BeverageFast, accurate, and robust solution for routine commercial cannabis testing As the world debates cannabis legalization for therapeutic applications and recreational use, the trends are shifting. Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in an increasing number of countries worldwide, including 33 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis in 2013. In the United States, Washington and Colorado were the first to fully legalize cannabis in 2012. By the end of 2019, 10 states have legalized recreational use for adults over the age of 21, with 64% of Americans favoring the move
Hemp, marijuana, CBD and THC: what’s the difference? by Paul Winkler | Blogs, Food / Beverage, ForensicCannabis refers to a genus of flowering plants originating from Asia.1 It's also an umbrella term that includes both marijuana plants and hemp plants, among others. With the flurry of legalization across the United States, CBD and THC derived products have been thrown...
Mysterious Vaping Detectives Part 2 by Paul Winkler | Blogs, Food / BeverageIn our last blog, I gave you some current highlights about the mysterious vaping illness that was making headlines (and still is). The condition now known as, e-cigarette or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) has sickened thousands and killed 57...
A year of cannabis in Canada. Where are we and what’s next? by Paul Winkler | Blogs, Food / BeverageIt’s been a momentous year for the cannabis industry in Canada. Not only did the country legalize cannabis with the Canadian cannabis law in October 2018, but it has also taken a giant leap in setting up a multi-billion dollar market from scratch. The progress made...
Your 3 most googled queries about cannabis testing answered by Paul Winkler | Blogs, Food / BeverageI did some digging on Google and decided to help answer the top 3 most searched queries about cannabis testing methods and technology, for both marijuana and hemp. 1. What equipment should I use to test my cannabis and hemp samples for mycotoxins,...
Boar taint isn’t so simple by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / Beverage The title says it all. Boar taint is a complex subject. For some, it’s not an issue. Others argue that it’s one of the biggest challenges to pork quality. It’s a very subjective response. In her blog, Dr. Laura Hancox illustrates the striking difference between the...
Phthalates: The Everywhere Chemical That’s Hard to See, Not Anymore with LC-MS/MS by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageA few months back, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a technical report on the use of chemicals in food processing and the negative health effects on children. One of the main culprits is phthalates. The 411 of PhthalatesPhthalates are esters of phthalic...
The Technology Behind Safe, Legal Cannabis by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageThe Third in a Three-Part Series Part 1: Cannabis is Legal in Canada - How Did We Get Here? Part 2: Canada's Focus on Cannabis Quality and Safety Intensifies Welcome to the third in a series of blogs from the cannabis team at SCIEX, designed to bring you up to speed...
Cannabis is Legal in Canada – How Did We Get Here? by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageThe First in a Three-Part Series Welcome to the first in a series of blogs from the cannabis team at SCIEX, designed to bring you up to speed and put you in the lead of the recently legalized cannabis market in Canada. The Canadian cannabis market has taken the plunge...
3 Dicamba Analysis Questions You Need to Ask Yourself Today by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Environmental / Industrial, Food / BeverageWe blinked and the last two years went in a flash. It seems like just yesterday, the Dicamba herbicide controversy hit the headlines in 2016 and the EPA set the regulations to expire in two years. Fast forward to today. Dicamba is an acid herbicide used to kill...
Don’t Be a Food Scandal Scapegoat. Fight Back with LC-MS/MS for Your Meat Authenticity Testing by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageThe infamous horsemeat scandal of 2013 shined a spotlight on the questionable integrity of our meat supply. What followed was a lengthy investigation as the extent of the scandal unraveled before our eyes, reaching far beyond the European borders...
Now You Can Overcome Your Food and Environmental Testing Obstacles by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Environmental / Industrial, Food / BeverageHow do you safeguard human health and protect your reputation through meeting stringent global food and environmental safety standards? When it comes to testing food and environmental samples, the quality of your testing data is vital to your business. You need fast...
It’s Time to Stop Fraudulent Food Reaching the Consumer with LC-MS/MS by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageIf you are reading this blog, it is likely that you are fully acquainted with food fraud, but let’s just take a moment to set the scene. Food fraud is by no means a new phenomenon and goes as far back as the middle ages, with the concept of tampering or...
Why You Need Mass Spec for Veterinary Drug Residue and Antibiotic Analysis by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageAs hospitals struggle with increasingly hard-to-treat antimicrobial resistance (ARM) bacterial infections, related deaths now exceed 700,000 per year globally and are predicted to reach 10 million per year by 2050. There’s no denying that these statistics are both...
Simplifying Polar Pesticides Within a Single Analysis by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageGlyphosate is a polar pesticide widely used as a garden herbicide. It is an ingredient in the world’s bestselling weed killer, which farmers consider one of their best solutions to their super weed problems. However, the chemical has become one of the most...
Screening Food for Allergens Using LC-MS/MS Analysis by Philip Taylor | Blogs, Food / BeverageBrowse the shelves of any grocery store, and you may get a false sense of security when it comes to ingredient lists. As much as consumers want to trust labels, the truth is, food products could contain mislabelled ingredients, such that they trigger an allergic reaction with serious detrimental effects including discomfort, pain sickness and in some instances, death. Manufacturers, however, do not want to risk their reputation and consumer safety over a false label. As such, there must be some sort of verification to support such an action
Testing for a Variety of Bath Salts is a Necessity for Forensic Labs by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / Beverage, ForensicTo date, when it comes to testing urine or oral fluids in the workplace not all psychoactive substances can be detected due to evolving substitutions. As legislation changes, so too do chemical formulations. Therefore researchers, like the authors of the following publication, A Validated Method for the Detection of 32 Bath Salts in Oral Fluids, published by Oxford Academic, analyze compounds using the best available methods so they can cast a wider net.
What does World Food Day Mean to Food Scientists? by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageDid you know that the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), celebrates its founding each year on October 16 with World Food Day? You can explore their theme and commitment to ending hunger by 2030 here. As part of their, “Ten Facts You Need to Know about Hunger,” perhaps you may find it interesting that, “The world will need to grow 60 percent more food by 2050 to feed the growing population.”
Fipronil Contamination in Eggs Update by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageSince 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....
Training Program for Today’s Food and Beverage Testing Lab by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageIs your lab looking to acquire methods for food testing? What about getting better acquainted on the SCIEX Triple Quad™ or QTRAP® mass spectrometers to learn quantitation better? The following SCIEXUniversity Success Program training courses not only cover food and beverage quantitation but offer application training on topics such as meat speciation testing and pesticide analysis. Especially important considering the latest Fipronil contamination in eggs.I want to sign up for courses >
Phthalates Are Out, Accurate Detection Using LC-MS/MS Technology Is In by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageWhether you like it or not, the plastics industry is a growing market. According to an Allied Market Research report, it was valued at $15,179 million in 2015 and is projected to reach $18,538 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2016 to 20221. Additionally, according to the report, in 2015, phthalates type held two-thirds of the global market in 2015. An important statistic since the use of various phthalates is restricted in many countries because of health concerns2.
Fipronil Tainted Eggs Detected in Several European Countries by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageNews 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.
Is Your Lab Prepared for Testing? The Global Supplement Market is Growing by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageDon’t judge a nutritional supplement by its label, as often, government monitoring of ingredients begins after the product enters the consumer market1. Meanwhile, there may be additional additives not mentioned on the label as they are used to address supplement side effects. Such is the case in the United States where even though federal law requires supplements to carry a dietary supplement label or a substitutional term, monitoring begins once a supplement is on the market. In China meanwhile, the China Food and Drug Administration’s (CFDA) health product potential illegal additives list, clearly stipulates monitoring processes for additives in six different types of nutritional supplements including weight loss, blood sugar reduction, blood pressure reduction, anti-fatigue, sleep improvement and immune strengthening functions.Read Tech Note >
The Benefits of Using SWATH Acquisition Technology when Testing Pesticides in Food by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageUp until recently, SWATH® Independent Data Acquisition (IDA), was not widely used for the detection of pesticides in food samples. Introduced in 2012, SWATH Acquisition is an advanced acquisition technology capable of running on high-resolution mass spectrometers such as the X500R QTOF system or Triple TOF technology. Originally used in the Omics market to ID and quantify complex samples, SWATH Acquisition is gradually making a transition across markets including the investigation of pesticides in food. Like designer drugs, pesticides continuously undergo synthesizing, and food labs are beginning to require a more reliable analysis method to be confident in their resulting reports.
Single Injection, Routine Antibiotic Testing in Urine Samples by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Environmental / Industrial, Food / BeverageThe consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products is a day to day occurrence. Once consumed the body excretes the remaining part of the compound which is not absorbed. This waste, flushed down the toilet, makes its way through the sewage system before arriving at a treatment facility where it was then processed with chemicals to ensure its cleanliness. Despite being washed, there can remain trace amounts of bacteria, hormones, metals, and antibiotics in whatever you consume, not just water
Food Allergies – How Allergic Are You? by SCIEX Community | Blogs, Food / BeverageA recent study published by the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI), pointed out, in a study of 109 people tested, that skin prick tests are not 100 percent reliable. In the study, participants were subjected to oral food challenges prior to skin testing in which 50 percent of individuals had no reaction. It was also discovered that blood tests were not full-proof even though they measure the presence of IgE antibodies to specific foods. These results are not surprising given that 50 to 60 percent of tests result in false-positives.