Phthalic acid diesters (PAEs), or phthalates, are widely used in industry as a plasticizer in products like toys, flooring, personal care products and food packages. Some PAEs are classified as hazardous, affecting mainly the reproductive system and possibly contributing to cancer. Though regulated, these phthalates might be present and used during production of goods. We demonstrate the possibility of using precursor ion selection and full scan MS2 spectrum, and utilize it as a fingerprint for the characterization of the different compounds/isomers with nominal m/z ratios 279 and 391.

Developing a fast and accurate screening method for detecting a wide range of toxic compounds is an important task for food safety. HR/AM spectrometry overcomes the screening limitation via selected reaction monitoring (SRM) on triple stage quadrupoles, because specific compounds need not be selected before analysis. Highly confident ID is achieved by accurate mass measurement of both precursor and fragment ions. A novel UHPLC-MS/MS method employing the Q Exactive benchtop Orbitrap mass spectrometer is proposed here for the study of possible spiked toxic agents into apple juice.

Chloramphenicol (CAP) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with historical veterinary uses in all major food-producing animals. It has serious side effects on humans that may cause aplastic anemia, and suspected carcinogen effect. Though banned for use in all food-producing animals by the EU, USA and Canada, residues of CAP at unacceptable levels continue to be found in food imports. We describe a simple sample preparation procedure followed by a high-speed LC separation and detection by a triple quadrupole MS operated in SRM mode and validation per European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC.

Both food safety and environmental regulatory requirements are demanding greater sensitivity on an increasing number of analytes in an increasing number of matrices. To meet these requirements, it is necessary to analyze a large number of analytes quickly at low levels. Triple quadrupole mass spectrometers are the industry standard for fast and reliable analysis achieved through the selected reaction monitoring experiment (SRM). We utilize a triple quadrupole MS equipped with a new Q2 collision cell enabling the rapid analysis of 250 pesticides in a screening application.

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture to protect crops and to improve efficiency of production. Consequently, governments, food producers and food retailers have the duty to ensure that any residues occurring in foods for human consumption are at or below Statutory Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs). Regulation EC 396/2005 adopted in the European Union sets MRLs for more than 500 different pesticides in over 300 different food commodities. We describe a method providing high quality and low level analysis of pesticides in produce samples using the TSQ Quantum XLS Ultra GC-MS/MS system.