Meeting EFSA Monitoring Demands:

Overview

In light of growing environmental concerns under the Stockholm Convention and a 2026–2029 EU monitoring initiative requiring the control of total C₁₀–C₁₇ polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs) in food, reliable screening and quantification methods are essential to address EFSA-identified data gaps. This poster presents an accredited GC-ECNI-MS method capable of measuring and differentiating short- and medium-chain PCAs (SC-PCAs and MC-PCAs) through targeted extraction and response-factor evaluation. Applied to an internal screening campaign of 134 food samples, the methodology successfully identifies elevated PCA prevalence particularly in lipid-rich matrices like fats and oils delivering surveillance data for upcoming regulatory requirements.