Pesticide contamination of foodstuffs has become a worldwide concern, prompting various levels of regulation and monitoring. Traditionally, pesticides are quantified with gas chromatography (GC) combined with selective detectors (ECD, FID, etc.). Selective GC detectors are great tools to quantify one or two classes at a time. However, screening for a number of different classes of pesticides requires multiple runs utilizing various GC configurations to achieve sufficient chromatographic resolution for unambiguous quantification. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) provides positive confirmation of various pesticides in a single analytical run because its superior selectivity allows interference-free quantification even with peak coelution. GC–MS has become a preferred technique for pesticide analysis because of its single-run capability.

Starch is composed of two macromolecules differing in size and structure. Amylose is a weakly branched polymer and amylopectin is a highly branched polymer with a higher molecular weight than amylose. Natural starch characterization with SEC/GPC is a challenge, because of the high number of reactive groups present in the chains, the high molar mass and the structure. Only a well balanced SEC/GPC method, based on optimized stationary phase and solvent polarity, allows true SEC/GPC separation by size and not by interaction or by a mixed mode of SEC/GPC and LAC.

Sudan dyes I–IV are Class 3 carcinogens, yet have been detected as colour enhancers in food products. This paper presents the resolution and detection of Sudan dyes I–IV via SFC-UV-MS with a runtime of only 8 minutes.

American and European Foulbrood (AFB and EFB) in honeybees is caused by two bacterial species, paenibacillus larvae and melissococcus pluton, respectively. For control of these bacteria, only a few antibiotics are recommended in Europe and the US. However, a variety of antibacterial agents are used, the sulpha drugs being the most popular. Residues of these antibiotics are quite often found in honey samples and are of concern to consumers around the world due to toxic or allergic reactions.

The continual increase in sample numbers in busy labs means that it is often difficult for quality control or contract analysis labs to maintain short turnaround times, particularly when instruments are already running at full capacity. To address the need for faster analysis while retaining the quality of separation offered by dedicated amino acid analysers, an improved formulation of sodium citrate based buffers has been developed by Biochrom.