Application Book Volume 3 - Food & Beverage

Importance of the Topic

Ensuring the safety and consistent quality of food and beverages is a critical challenge given increasing consumer demands and stringent regulations. Modern analytical methods play a key role in screening for contaminants (pesticides, mycotoxins, nitrosamines), monitoring heavy metals, characterizing flavors and aromas, and performing quality control through rapid and reliable measurements.

Objectives and Overview

This collection of application notes demonstrates state-of-the-art analytical approaches for Food & Beverage analysis. Key objectives include:

• Identifying and quantifying trace contaminants (NDMA, patulin, pesticides, mycotoxins, bisphenol A)
• Profiling flavor and fragrance compounds in complex matrices (e.g. essential oils, fruit juices, beer)
• Determining heavy metal levels in water and food by atomic absorption and ICP methods
• Implementing fast, high-throughput techniques for carbon dioxide in beer, TOC in water, headspace analysis of packaging
• Monitoring process parameters such as sugar content (must), bitterness (hops), collagen markers (hydroxyproline), total bound nitrogen

Methods and Instrumentation

• Gas Chromatography (GC, Fast GC) with various detectors (FID, ECD, MS, MS/MS)
• Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS, GC–MS) in EI, NCI or ESI modes
• Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP-CCD, ICP-MS) and Atomic Absorption (AAS, GF-AAS)
• Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Nitrogen by catalytic combustion and chemiluminescence
• Ion Chromatography (IC) for anions (sulfites, phosphates, organic acids)
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV–VIS spectrophotometry for rapid screening
• Automated autosamplers and sample preparation modules (HS-SPME, headspace, solid-phase microextraction, liquid–liquid extraction, programmable dilution)

Main Results and Discussion

– GC–MS replaced older thermal analyzers to quantify NDMA in malt down to sub-µg/kg levels, enabling brewers to reduce nitrosamines via kiln design.
– LC–MS methods (APCI, ESI) achieved sub-ppb detection of the mycotoxin patulin in apple products, meeting EU limits.
– Single-quad LC–MS in SIM mode provided simultaneous determination of phenoxy herbicides and other pesticides at low-ng/mL levels.
– Fast GC-ECD on narrow-bore columns reduced analysis times for organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides to minutes with fg detection limits.
– GF-AAS and ICP methods quantified Pb, Cu, Ni, and precious metals (Pd, Pt, Rh) in water and flour at low-µg/L levels using modern background correction.
– Headspace GC quantified solvent residues in packaging foils, accounting for matrix effects by standard addition.
– TOC analyzers measured CO₂ in beer online via IC coupling and CO₂ sparging in under 5 min, and TOC/TNb in water and process streams as fast as 4 min.
– FTIR-based methods provided rapid must Brix determination and IR screening of cork surface treatments.
– Parallel LC with dual RID measured sugars and organic acids in food extracts in a single injection.
– Fast GC reduced fatty acid methyl ester profiling run times by 16× with equivalent resolution.
– GC-ECD traced pesticide residues from flowers into honey sac extracts at pg/µL levels, revealing in-flight and hive reduction.
– UV–VIS assays for hydroxyproline, nitrite, phosphate and hop α/β-acids provided pass/fail results with automated calculation and report generation.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Unparalleled sensitivity and selectivity ensure compliance with EU regulations and consumer safety requirements.
• High-throughput and fast analytical protocols increase lab productivity and lower per-sample costs.
• Fully automated sample preparation and injection systems reduce manual labor and standardize results.
• Versatile multimodal platforms accommodate a broad range of matrices (beverage, food, environmental), streamlining lab workflows.
• Quantitative quality control assists producers in process optimization, raw material selection, and product consistency.

Future Trends and Possibilities

• Integration of high-resolution MS (HR-MS) and tandem MS/MS for advanced screening and non-targeted analysis.
• Miniaturized, field-deployable instrumentation for on-site testing in breweries, wineries and food plants.
• Enhanced automation using robotics, AI-driven data processing, and laboratory information management systems (LIMS).
• Green analytics leveraging solvent-free sample prep (SPME, direct MS) and energy-efficient separation technologies.
• Multi-omics approaches combining metabolomics, proteomics, and microbiome profiling to assess food quality holistically.

Conclusion

The combined use of advanced chromatographic, spectroscopic and mass spectrometric methods provides comprehensive solutions for Food & Beverage analysis. By delivering high sensitivity, speed, and automation, these techniques ensure consumer safety, regulatory compliance, and consistent product quality across all stages of production and distribution.

Reference

No direct literature references used in this summary.