The aim of this application note is to demonstrate the performance of the Thermo Scientific™ TSQ™ 9610 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer coupled to the Thermo Scientific™ TRACE™ 1610 GC equipped with programmable temperature vaporizing injector (PTV) for the determination of trace level pesticide residues in baby food.
This work aimed to develop and validate an analytical method for simultaneous screening and quantification of pesticide residues in potato by using the QuEChERS extraction method in combination with the Thermo Scientific™ Exactive™ GC Orbitrap™ GC-MS system operated in full scan mode. The data acquisition and processing were carried out by using Thermo Scientific™ TraceFinder™ software. The optimized method was validated as per the SANTE/12682/2019 guidelines.
In this study, the quantitative performance of the Thermo Scientific™ TSQ™ 9000 triple quadrupole GC-MS/MS system was assessed for the analysis of more than 200 pesticides in baby food at ultra low concentrations (as low as 0.025 μg/kg).
We present a multi-residue instrumental method that can be applied for high-throughput screening and semi-quantitation of pesticide residues in food matrices at or below the current legislative requirements. A high-resolution, accurate-mass mass spectrometer operated in Full Scan – Variable Data-Independent Analysis (FS-vDIA)* mode provided an option for full spectrum filtering, retrospective analysis, and multi-parameter-based compound identification. The method was validated for 328 target pesticides, with an option for the future extension to a larger number. (*vDIA not available in US.)
As agricultural trade grows and food safety concerns mount, stricter pesticide regulations are being enforced around the world. Increased pesticide testing and reductions in maximum permissible residue levels have driven demand for fast, sensitive and cost-effective analytical methods for high-throughput screening of multi-class pesticides in food. Detection of 510 pesticides at low ppb levels was achieved within 12 minutes using the Thermo Scientific Exactive benchtop LC/MS system powered by Orbitrap technology.
