Application Notebook - AGILENT FOOD TESTING SOLUTIONS

Importance of the Topic
The Agilent Food Testing Solutions Application Notebook addresses the critical need for reliable, efficient, and sensitive analytical methods to monitor chemical and biological contaminants in the food supply. Ensuring consumer safety and regulatory compliance requires detection of pesticides, trace metals, toxins, and quality markers at ever-lower levels in complex matrices, from oils and dairy to beverages and processed foods.

Objectives and Study Overview
This compendium of application studies demonstrates a broad range of advanced analytical workflows—spanning gas chromatography, high-resolution and triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry, microwave plasma atomic emission, automated sample preparation, and online LC-GC coupling—designed for multi-residue pesticides, fatty acid profiling, major and trace elements, mycotoxins, dioxins, sulfur volatiles, and food-authenticity markers.

Methodology and Instrumentation
• QuEChERS-based extraction and dispersive SPE clean-up
• Agilent 7890/5975 GC-MS and GC-MS/MS with Capillary Flow Technology and backflush
• Automated derivatization (TMSH) on the 7696A Sample Prep WorkBench
• 4100 MP-AES for cost-effective major/trace metals
• 7700x ICP-MS (He cell) for rapid multi-element screening
• 6460 and 6490 Triple Quadrupole LC-MS/MS with trigger-MRM and Jet Stream
• 6530 Q-TOF LC-MS for non-targeted profiling and identification
• Online coupling of 1220 LC and 7890 GC for intact steryl/stanyl esters
• MassHunter and Mass Profiler Professional software for data review and chemometric modeling

Key Results and Discussion
• Multi-residue pesticide methods achieved detection limits at or below 0.01 mg/kg in oils and produce, with reliable quantitation and confirmation.
• Automated FAME derivatization yielded <1% RSD for EPA/DHA in salmon oil.
• MP-AES and ICP-MS methods quantified major and trace elements in certified reference materials with recoveries within certified ranges.
• GC/MS/MS screening of dioxins and PAHs met EU regulatory criteria (pg-level TEQ).
• Q-TOF non-targeted profiling distinguished wine grape varieties via accurate-mass markers.
• tMRM on triple quadrupole LC/MS avoided false positives in complex herbal extracts.
• Online LC-GC coupling enabled direct quantitation of plant stanyl esters in margarine with minimal sample prep.

Benefits and Practical Applications
These validated methods increase throughput, reduce solvent and labor costs, and improve data quality. Single-instrument workflows deliver both quantitative and confirmatory data, minimizing false positives/negatives. Automated sample prep and backflush technology extend instrument uptime and simplify maintenance.

Future Trends and Opportunities
Continued integration of high-resolution MS, advanced data analytics (machine learning), and automated workflows promises even greater sensitivity, broader non-targeted screening, and predictive quality monitoring. Miniaturized, field-deployable platforms may further expand on-site testing capabilities.

Conclusion
Agilent’s comprehensive portfolio of analytical solutions empowers food and feed laboratories to meet current and emerging safety challenges with confidence, combining robust sample preparation, cutting-edge instrumentation, and intuitive software to deliver accurate, reproducible results.

References
Key publications and regulatory guidelines cited within each application note illustrate method validation against certified reference materials, EU/US legislative requirements, and published research in food safety analysis.