Leading EU and UK Pesticide Testing Labs Collaborate with Thermo Fisher Scientific
European Union Reference Laboratory and University of Almeria, Spain, work with Thermo Fisher Scientific to develop better methods for measuring very small amounts of pesticide residues in foods.
- (1888PressRelease) November 19, 2013 - RUNCORN, UK - In efforts to ensure safe and healthy food, two leading European food testing laboratories are collaborating with Thermo Fisher Scientific at the company's new Pesticide Analysis Center of Excellence to improve methods for detecting and measuring pesticide residues in food.
The European Union Reference Laboratories (EURL) for Residues of Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables at the University of Almeria, Spain, is focusing its collaboration on developing a method that uses Thermo Scientific Q-Exactive Orbitrap LC-MS technology to screen, quantify and confirm hundreds of analytes in a single run. Another goal is to eliminate matrix interferences from a variety of food samples. The EURL is working to ensure consistency across food control laboratories and to contribute to the development of standardized analytical methods.
"We believe high resolution accurate mass mass spectrometry can bring significant improvements into day-to-day pesticide analysis," said Professor Amadeo Rodriquez Fernandez-Alba of the Almeria lab. "The capability to provide very accurate mass measurement along with excellent sensitivity and confirmatory information would improve lab throughput significantly, and would allow for more effective pesticide residue monitoring."
The other collaboration, led by Richard Fussell, senior scientist at the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), a UK national reference lab, is focused on trace level analysis of more than 150 targeted pesticide residues in a variety of foods, using the Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 triple quadrupole pesticide analyzer. FERA provides analytical data to the government, international organizations and the private sector, among other duties.
"Our aim is to take advantage of the selectivity and sensitivity of the latest GC triple quadrupole technology to develop robust methods that use less intensive sample preparation steps," Fussell said.
Thermo Scientific is one of the premier brands of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. More information about the Thermo Scientific Pesticide Analysis Center of Excellence can be found at www.thermoscientific.com/pesticideanalysis.
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With revenues of $13 billion, we have 39,000 employees and serve customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as in environmental and process control industries. We create value for our key stakeholders through three premier brands, Thermo Scientific, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services, which offer a unique combination of innovative technologies, convenient purchasing options and a single solution for laboratory operations management. Our products and services help our customers solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Visit www.thermofisher.com.
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