Contaminants and Residues

Food can become contaminated by chemical substances and residues originating from various sources throughout the entire agri-food supply chain.

These chemical contaminants and residues can arise from:

• Raw materials naturally present in the production of food and feed products.
• Production processes, particularly those involving high temperatures or chemical extraction procedures that lead to chemical reactions.
• Food contact materials, including surfaces, facilities, equipment, and packaging.
• Agricultural practices, including crop treatments with pesticides, phytochemicals, and fungicides.
• Farming practices, such as the use of hormones.

The most significant chemical contaminants affecting the agri-food chain include:

• Pesticide residues
• Mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, ochratoxin, fumonisins, Ergot alkaloids, and Alternaria toxins
• Plant toxins like Tropane Alkaloids and Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids
• Veterinary drug residues
• Heavy metals, with cadmium, lead, and arsenic being the most prominent
• Process contaminants, such as acrylamide, furan, alkyl furans, MCPD, dioxins, PCBs, PAHs, chlorates, and perchlorates
• Contaminants from contact materials (MOSH and MOAH)
• PFAS
• Environmental contaminants, including radioactive substances
• Allergens
• GMOs

The presence of chemical contaminants, pesticides, and veterinary drug residues in the food chain is a growing global concern for consumer health and safety.

Mérieux NutriSciences Comprehensive Solutions for Contaminants and Residues

Mérieux NutriSciences offers comprehensive solutions for contaminants and residues, providing analytical tests to ensure the quality and safety of food and feed products across a wide spectrum of contaminants. Our state-of-the-art testing centers employ approved methods for detecting contaminants, pesticides, and veterinary drug residues, delivering accurate, reliable, and rapid results.

Our available analytical techniques include:

• UHPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS triple quadrupole
• HPLC/MS/MS with ion trap
• UHPLC/Exactive (Orbitrap Technologies)
• HPLC-GC-FID for MOSH and MOAH
• HPLC/DAD/TOF
• ICP-MS

Mérieux NutriSciences Support

We provide dedicated customer support through our Customer Care team, comprised of highly specialized technical experts in scientific matters. They assist in defining analytical plans, generating test reports, ensuring conformity assessment, and producing technical reports.

Additionally, Mérieux NutriSciences allocates human resources to address specific customer requests, with Project Managers serving as the main point of contact for management and contractual matters. Project Managers possess technical and regulatory knowledge and experience, providing consultation for analytical plan development and activity planning.

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