Determination of dissolved bromate in drinking water by ion chromatography and post column reaction: interlaboratory study.

A collaborative study, International Evaluation Measurement Programme-25a, was conducted in accordance with international protocols to determine the performance characteristics of an analytical method for the determination of dissolved bromate in drinking water. The method should fulfill the analytical requirements of Council Directive 98/83/EC (referred to in this work as the Drinking Water Directive; DWD). The new draft standard method under investigation is based on ion chromatography followed by post-column reaction and UV detection.

Development and optimisation of a dopant assisted liquid chromatographic-atmospheric pressure photo ionisation-tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of 15+1 EU priority PAHs in edible oils.

European food legislation defines a set of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as of high concern for human health. The EU set contains structurally very similar PAHs with ring numbers between 4 and 6, and so raises some separation aspects and problems, which were not experienced with traditionally analysed PAHs. Many of the currently applied gas chromatographic mass spectrometric (GC-MS) methods suffer from separation problems, while high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) is neither capable of detecting the whole set of EU priority PAHs nor does it (compared to GC-MS) allow structural identification.

Determination of nine intense sweeteners in foodstuffs by high-performance liquid chromatography and evaporative light-scattering detection: interlaboratory study.

An interlaboratory trial was conducted to validate an analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis with evaporative light-scattering detection for the simultaneous determination of 9 intense sweeteners, i.e., acesulfame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamic acid, dulcin, neotame, neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, saccharin, and sucralose in carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and canned or bottled fruits.

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) grafted on plasma-activated poly(ethylene oxide): thermal response and interaction with proteins.

Thermoresponsive polymer layers offer the possibility of preparing smart surfaces with properties that are switchable through a phase transition, usually close to the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer. In particular, poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) has gained a great deal of attention because it has such a phase transition in a physiologically interesting temperature range. We have prepared ultrathin thermoresponsive coatings by grafting pNIPAM on a plasma-CVD-deposited, poly(ethylene oxide)-like polymer substrate that was activated in an Ar plasma discharge to initiate the grafting.

Development of a method for the quantification of whey allergen traces in mixed-fruit juices based on liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection.

The availability of accurate and sensitive detection methods for food allergens is crucial for the food industry to ensure the correct labelling of their products in order to protect allergic consumers. For this purpose a method using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was developed to detect traces of three allergenic cow milk proteins (lactalbumin, lactoglobulins A and B) in mixed-fruit juice samples. Different sample pre-treatments were compared and the best recoveries were obtained with a method employing a solid-phase extraction cartridge.

Radical scavenging activity, anti-bacterial and mutagenic effects of cocoa bean Maillard reaction products with degree of roasting.

Raw, pre-roasted and roasted Cocoa samples were separated into four different molecular weight fractions (> 30, 30-10, 10-5 and < 5 kDa) with ultrafiltration and tested for their antibacterial, mutagenic, as well as their radical-scavenging effects. Radical-scavenging effects were tested with electro paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, anti-mutagenicity in the Salmonella microsome assay (with and without metabolic activation), and antibacterial effects by incubating the fractions with several strains of Bifidobacteria, Enterobacter and Escherichia, and observing their growth. The radical-scavenging activity and reducing substance concentrations increased, particularly in the 5-10-kDa roasted fraction.

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.

Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of milk fat and cocoa butter equivalents in milk chocolate: interlaboratory study.

A collaborative trial was conducted to validate an analytical approach comprising method procedures for determination of milk fat and the detection and quantification of cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) in milk chocolate. The whole approach is based on (1) comprehensive databases covering the triacylglycerol composition of a wide range of authentic milk fat, cocoa butter, and CBE samples and 947 gravimetrically prepared mixtures thereof; (2) the availability of a certified cocoa butter reference material for calibration; (3) an evaluation algorithm, which allows reliable quantitation of the milk fat content in chocolate; (4) a subsequent correction to take account of the triacylglycerols derived from milk fat; (5) mathematical expressions to detect the presence of CBEs in milk chocolate; and (6) a multivariate statistical formula to quantitate the amount of CBEs in milk chocolate. Twelve laboratories participated in the validation study.

European Union database of acrylamide levels in food: update and critical review of data collection.

The European Commission's Directorate General Joint Research Centre has been collecting data produced by European Union Member States on the acrylamide content of food since 2003. More than 9000 individual data points have been received from official food control laboratories directly or via their Competent Authorities, and from the food industry. Before being entered into the database, the data were assessed for their reliability.

Peanut and hazelnut traces in cookies and chocolates: relationship between analytical results and declaration of food allergens on product labels.

Accidental exposure to hazelnut or peanut constitutes a real threat to the health of allergic consumers. Correct information regarding food product ingredients is of paramount importance for the consumer, thereby reducing exposure to food allergens. In this study, 569 cookies and chocolates on the European market were purchased.

Detection of ruminant meat and bone meals in animal feed by real-time polymerase chain reaction: result of an interlaboratory study.

The commercialization of animal feeds infected by prions proved to be the main cause of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Therefore, feed bans were enforced, initially for ruminant feeds, and later for all feeds for farmed animals. The development and validation of analytical methods for the species-specific detection of animal proteins in animal feed has been indicated in the TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) Roadmap (European Commission.

Development and validation of an analytical method for the determination of semicarbazide in fresh egg and in egg powder based on the use of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

In this work the development of a method to determine semicarbazide (SEM) in fresh whole egg and in whole egg and egg white powders as those used in the food industry, by using LC-MS/MS is described. The method is based on a recently validated one for the determination of SEM in baby food. SEM is extracted from egg with 0.

Analysis of heat-induced contaminants (acrylamide, chloropropanols and furan) in carbohydrate-rich food.

Heat-induced food contaminants have attracted attention of both the scientific community and the public in recent years. The presence of substances considered possibly or probably carcinogenic to humans has triggered an extensive debate on the healthiness of even staple foods. In that respect, acrylamide, furan and chloropropanols are the main substances of concern.

Comment on "Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services".

Worm et al. (Research Articles, 3 November 2006, p. 787) investigated the importance of biodiversity to marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales.

Optically based technique for producing merged spectra of water-leaving radiances from ocean color remote sensing.

An optically based technique is presented that produces merged spectra of normalized water-leaving radiances L(WN) by combining spectral data provided by independent satellite ocean color missions. The assessment of the merging technique is based on a four-year field data series collected by an autonomous above-water radiometer located on the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Tower in the Adriatic Sea. The uncertainties associated with the merged L(WN) obtained from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer are consistent with the validation statistics of the individual sensor products.

Food allergen detection methods and the challenge to protect food-allergic consumers.

The detection of allergenic ingredients in food products has received increased attention from the food industry and legislative and regulatory agencies over recent years. This has resulted in the improvement of measures aimed at the protection of food-allergic consumers. The controlled production of food products and control activities executed by food inspection agencies rely on the availability of methods capable of detecting traces of allergenic ingredients.

Life cycle thinking in waste management: summary of European Commission's Malta 2005 workshop and pilot studies.

Life cycle thinking is essential to consider the implications of different waste management systems beyond their traditional regional boundaries. Building on data provided by representatives of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, the European Commission's DG JRC conducted a series of life cycle pilot studies in the context of municipal waste management. The results were presented in a JRC workshop in Malta, where the government representatives also outlined their national strategies focusing on the main related achievements.

Effect of heat treatment on the detection of intact bovine beta-lactoglobulins by LC mass spectrometry.

Lactoglobulin (LG) is the most abundant protein of the whey fraction of cow's milk, and due to its high nutritional value as well as its technological properties it is widely used as an ingredient in food preparation. As a consequence of heat treatment, milk proteins may undergo structural changes such as protein unfolding and aggregation, in addition to chemical modifications. This, in turn can change the allergenic potential of LG.

Transgenic mouse brains for the evaluation and quality control of BSE tests.

Rapid BSE tests are widely used diagnostics in veterinary medicine and more than 11 million tests are applied worldwide. The evaluation of new rapid BSE tests and the quality assurance of approved BSE tests pose a challenge owing to the natural scarcity of BSE-infected bovine brainstems and regional variations in prion titer. Transgenic mice expressing bovine prion protein (Tg4092) offer an alternative approach to these problems.

Sample preparation strategy for the simultaneous determination of macrolide antibiotics in animal feedingstuffs by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD).

A novel and suitable clean-up method that allows, for the first time, the simultaneous determination of a rather large number of macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin, rosamicin, spiramycin, tylosin, kitasamycin and josamycin in feedingstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) is presented in this work. The effectiveness of the developed clean-up method allows the quantification of the target macrolides in poultry feed using standard calibration curves instead of matrix matched standards, which overcomes the general problem of finding representative blanks. Furthermore an additional back extraction included in the sample preparation procedure allows the determination of an additional macrolide (oleandomycin) with detection limits, expressed as apparent concentration in poultry feed, ranging from 0.

Determination of semicarbazide in fresh egg and whole egg powder by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: interlaboratory validation study.

An interlaboratory validation study was conducted according to harmonized protocols to evaluate the effectiveness of a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for the determination of semicarbazide (SEM) in fresh whole egg and in an industrially processed whole egg powder. The sample was extracted with hydrochloric acid and derivatized with 2-nitrobenzaldehyde, with 1,2-[(15)N2(13)C]SEM as the internal standard. The extract was neutralized and purified on a solid-phase extraction cartridge.

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.

Validation of two commercial lateral flow devices for the detection of peanut proteins in cookies: interlaboratory study.

Results are reported for an interlaboratory validation study of 2 commercially available Iateral flow devices (dipstick tests) designed to detect peanut residues in food matrixes. The test samples used in this study were cookies containing peanuts at 7 different concentrations in the range of 0-30 mg peanuts/kg food matrix. The test samples with sufficient and proven homogeneity were prepared in our laboratory.

Determination of processed animal proteins in feed: The performance characteristics of classical microscopy and immunoassay methods.

Species-specific detection and detection of groups of species such as ruminants is required according to European legislation dealing with the safe use of animal by-products in animal nutrition. Various methods are applied to the analysis of feed samples for the presence of banned processed animal proteins (PAPs) including meat and bone meal (MBM). Classical microscopy as described in the Commission Directive EC/2003/126 is the only official method to detect the presence of constituents of animal origin in feed, nevertheless some deviating protocols allowed under the old Directive (EC/88/1988) claim to gain comparable results.