Results of a European inter-laboratory comparison study on the determination of EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in edible vegetable oils.

A collaborative study on the analysis for 15 + 1 EU priority PAHs in edible oils was organised to investigate the state-of-the-art of respective analytical methods. Three spiked vegetable oils, one contaminated native sunflower oil, and one standard solution were investigated in this study. The results of 52 laboratories using either high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection or gas chromatography with mass-selective detectors were evaluated by application of robust statistics.

Method validation for determination of the 15 European-priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in primary smoke condensates by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: interlaboratory study.

A collaborative study was conducted to validate an analytical method for quantification of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) regarded in 2002 as a health concern by the former Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission (SCF) in primary smoke condensates. The method is based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of a cyclohexane extract with solid-phase cleanup through silica gel. The analytes were detected in the selected-ion monitoring mode and quantified by using 3 isotopically labeled internal standard compounds.

Reduction of perchlorate in river sediment.

The transformation of perchlorate was investigated in river sediment during laboratory batch and column studies to determine if reduction of perchlorate is a viable pathway in natural sediment without previous exposure to perchlorate. Perchlorate at an initial concentration of 10 microM was reduced quantitatively to chloride in 3 d after a lag phase of 2 d in sediment slurries amended with lactate. Raising the initial concentration of perchlorate to 1,000 microM increased the lag phase to 20 d before reduction occurred.

Single-laboratory validation of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for quantitation of 15 European priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in spiked smoke flavourings.

An existing method was adapted to the purpose and validated in-house according to the IUPAC harmonised guideline for the determination of 15 EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in primary smoke condensates (PSCs) that are used to produce smoke flavourings for human consumption. Limits of detection (LOD) varied between 0.1 and 1.

Composition and analysis of liquid smoke flavouring primary products.

Smoke flavourings are produced on a large scale and have been applied to a variety of food products for more than 30 years. The use of them has many advantages compared to traditional smoking techniques. Among others, the amount of (known) toxic compounds deriving from combustion processes can be more easily controlled in smoke flavourings.