Contaminants and residues of pesticides, chemicals, and veterinary drugs in food and water represent a growing health concern for consumers around the world. Mérieux NutriSciences provides analytical testing services to monitor water quality and ensure the purity of your products against a full spectrum of contaminants.
Our testing centers of excellence employ approved methods for the detection of chemical contaminants in water, including pesticides, dioxins, heavy metals, and radioactive chemicals.
We utilize high-resolution gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) to determine compounds such as PCDD/PCDF and PCBs. Our fully ISO-compliant laboratories offer sampling services and environmental analysis (chemical, physical, and microbiological services), research and technical-scientific assistance for industry, agriculture, and the environment.
Expert testing for water contaminants
Pesticides
Human health concerns around the presence of pesticides in the food chain are prompting governments in developed and developing countries to establish strict regulatory standards for their use. Our trained technicians and accredited laboratories provide analyses of food and water for over 500 different pesticides.
Dioxins, furans, and PCBs
Dioxins are a name commonly given to a class of chlorinated compounds that, together with dioxin-like PCBs and furans, persist in the environment, accumulate in the food chain, and can cause a host of adverse health effects in humans. In recent years, problems related to the harmful effects of dioxins on humans and the environment have prompted growing concern worldwide. Detecting and analyzing PCBs, dioxins, and furans, listed as persistent organic pollutants, is part of Mérieux NutriSciences’ comprehensive offer to support the food industry and government authorities worldwide.
Heavy metals
Low levels of toxic heavy metals present as residues in food and water can adversely affect human health. Mérieux NutriSciences provides routine testing for a range of heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and others.
Radioactivity
Even low levels of radionuclides or radioactive isotopes can cause human health problems, including cancer, heart disease, or immune disorders. Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionizing radiation, which has sufficient energy to strip away electrons from atoms (creating charged ions) or to break some chemical bonds.
Mérieux NutriSciences’ radioactivity labs measure ionizing radiation in drinking water and food processing. In keeping with WHO guidelines, these analyses are generally performed in two phases:
- Control and monitoring of alpha and beta activity to determine whether concentrations are below levels at which no further action is required
- If screening levels are exceeded, investigations of individual concentrations of radionuclides compared with specific guideline levels
We use hyper pure germanium (HPGe) gamma ray spectrometry and other technologies for the measurement of gamma-emitting radionuclides, quantification of total alpha- and beta-activities, and determination of tritium in waters.
Mérieux NutriSciences also performs radioactivity analyses of wastewater as part of our Water and Environment services.
