Baby Food Analysis

AFLAOCHRA PREP® columns recommended for baby food analysis

In the April 2014 issue of Journal of Chromatography A 1337: 75-84, Desmarchelier et al., from Nestle Research Centre in Switzerland, and co-authors from Quality Assurance Centres in Italy and Singapore have described methods for the analysis of mycotoxins in cereals, cocoa, oil, spices, infant formula, coffee and nuts.

The authors validated and compared a generic (QuEChERS) clean-up for 15 mycotoxins, and an R-Biopharm Rhone AFLAOCHRA PREP® immunoaffinity column method for aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. Both methods were based on using LC-MS/MS for detection, with positive identification of mycotoxins in the matrix being conducted according to the confirmation criteria defined in Decision 2002/657/EC. Quantification was performed by isotopic dilution using 13C-labeled mycotoxins as internal standards. Method performance criteria are reported for both the QuEChERS and the AFLAOCHRA PREP® methods, with the conclusion that when low quantification limits are required, for example for baby foods, then the AFLAOCHRA PREP® approach is essential.

Have a look at the Journal of Chromatography.