Application Book Volume 3 - Food & Beverage

Significance of the Topic

The safety, authenticity and quality of food and beverage products are critical for consumer health, industry reputation and regulatory compliance. Modern production and processing introduce diverse risks—from emerging contaminants like nitrosamines to heavy metals and unauthorized additives—making sensitive, high-throughput analytical methods essential for monitoring, control and product development.

Objectives and Overview

This summary highlights a range of analytical approaches presented in the Shimadzu Food & Beverage Application Book Vol. 3 (SEG-A-079). It covers key case studies on contaminant detection (pesticides, mycotoxins, industrial residues), flavor and aroma profiling, elemental analysis of heavy metals, and quality control protocols for beverages and foods. The goal is to illustrate methodologies, instrumentation, main findings, practical benefits and future trends in food chemistry labs.

Methodology and Instrumentation

• Chromatography: GC-FID, GC-ECD, GC-NCI, GC-MS (single quadrupole and tandem), fast GC with narrow-bore, high-temperature programming.
• Liquid Chromatography: HPLC, UHPLC, LC-MS (APCI, ESI), multi-residue libraries and retention index filtering.
• Mass Spectrometry: Single-quad and triple-quad systems for trace quantitation of nitrosamines, mycotoxins, pesticides and bisphenol A.
• Spectral Methods: UV-VIS for quality markers (hydroxyproline, hops, sulfites, phosphates), FTIR for must and wine profiling, headspace GC for packaging volatiles.
• Atomic Spectroscopy: AAS (flame and GFA) with deuterium background correction, ICP-OES/ICP-MS for multi-element heavy metal screening.
• Total Carbon/Nitrogen: TOC and TNb analyzers with chemiluminescence for beverage CO₂ determination and crop nitrogen status.

Main Results and Discussion

• Contaminants: NDMA in malt reduced via kiln modifications; patulin in apple products detected at sub-ppb via LC-MS; phenoxy herbicides and organophosphates quantified by LCMS; rapid screening of banned dyes by HPLC-APCI-MS.
• Flavor Profiling: FFNSC library and LRI filtering in GC-MS improved terpene isomer identification; HS-SPME GC-FID/MS revealed monoterpene-dominated aroma in African pears.
• Heavy Metals: AAS and ICP methods achieved ppb to sub-ppb limits for Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni in water and complex matrices; ICP-OES provided 10-element analysis in wine.
• Quality Control – Beverages: TOC-VCPH method replaced manometry for CO₂ in beer; headspace GC-FID quantified solvent residues in packaging; UV-VIS assays tracked sulfites in wine.
• Quality Control – Foods: Parallel LC-RI determined sugars and organic acids in bakery mixes; fast GC cut analysis time 16-fold for fatty acid methyl esters.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• High Sensitivity and Selectivity: Trace-level detection of regulated and emerging contaminants ensures compliance with EU and national standards.
• Speed and Throughput: Fast GC, automated TOC/TNb and parallel LC reduce turnaround times for routine screening.
• Flexibility: Hyphenated techniques (LC-MS, GC-MS, ICP-MS) and spectral libraries support targeted and non-targeted analyses across diverse matrices.
• Data Quality: Integrated software enables automated calibration, pass/fail criteria, retention-time correction and quality charts for robust validation.
• Regulatory Confidence: Methods align with ISO, DIN, EC directives and AOAC guidelines for official residue and quality control.

Future Trends and Opportunities

• Miniaturization and Field-Deployable Systems: Portable GC-MS and infrared detectors for on-site screening of hazards and quality markers.
• Advanced Data Analytics: Machine learning and multivariate spectral deconvolution for non-targeted contaminant discovery and flavor fingerprinting.
• Green Sample Prep: Solid-phase microextraction, QuEChERS and solvent-free approaches to increase sustainability.
• Real-Time Process Monitoring: PAT (Process Analytical Technology) integration using FTIR and near-IR for continuous fermentation control in breweries and wineries.
• High-Resolution MS: Orbitrap and time-of-flight systems for ultra-trace and high-mass-accuracy detection of novel pollutants.

Conclusion

Modern food and beverage analysis demands a comprehensive toolkit combining chromatography, mass spectrometry, atomic spectroscopy and spectral methods. Shimadzu’s integrated instrumentation and software solutions showcase how laboratories can achieve rapid, sensitive, and reliable testing—safeguarding consumer health, ensuring product quality and meeting stringent regulatory requirements.

Reference

Shimadzu Europa GmbH. Application Book Volume 3 "Food & Beverage", SEG-A-079, Duisburg, 2007.