Application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-MS/C/IRMS) to detect the abuse of 17β-estradiol in cattle.

Although the ability to differentiate between endogenous steroids and synthetic homologues on the basis of their (13)C/(12)C isotopic ratio has been known for over a decade, this technique has been scarcely implemented for food safety purposes. In this study, a method was developed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-MS/C/IRMS) to demonstrate the abuse of 17β-estradiol in cattle, by comparison of the (13)C/(12)C ratios of the main metabolite 17α-estradiol and an endogenous reference compound (ERC), 5-androstene-3β,17α-diol, in bovine urine. The intermediate precisions were determined as 0.

Use of isotope ratio mass spectrometry to differentiate between endogenous steroids and synthetic homologues in cattle: a review.

Although substantial technical advances have been achieved during the past decades to extend and facilitate the analysis of growth promoters in cattle, the detection of abuse of synthetic analogs of naturally occurring hormones has remained a challenging issue. When it became clear that the exogenous origin of steroid hormones could be traced based on the (13)C/(12)C isotope ratio of the substances, GC/C/IRMS has been successfully implemented to this aim since the end of the past century. However, due to the costly character of the instrumental setup, the susceptibility of the equipment to errors and the complex and time consuming sample preparation, this method is up until now only applied by a limited number of laboratories.

Intercomparison on measurements of PCBs in pork fat during the Belgian PCB-crisis.

During the Belgian PCB crisis (1999/2000) the quality of the data from the PCB monitoring were studied with a proficiency testing experiment. Pork fat that was spiked at the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (EC-JRC-IRMM) was sent out as unknown to all laboratories that participated in the monitoring. In parallel, the material was certified on the basis of the results of several leading PCB laboratories throughout Europe that did not participate in the monitoring.

The Belgian PCB/dioxin incident: analysis of the food chain contamination and health risk evaluation.

The Belgian PCB incident occurred at the end of January 1999 when a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated with dioxins was accidentally added to a stock of recycled fat used in the production of animal feeds. Although signs of poultry poisoning were noticed by February, 1999, the source and the extent of the contamination were discovered only in May 1999, when it appeared that more than 2500 farms could have been supplied with contaminated feeds. This resulted in a major food crisis, which rapidly extended to the whole country and could be resolved only by the implementation of a large PCB/dioxin food monitoring program.