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Environmental contaminants
Dioxins (PCDD/Fs & PBDD/Fs), polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and poly-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are organic environmental contaminants that occur in many marine and animal based foods at very low concentrations.
Fera has developed an extensive suite of very sensitive tests capable of detecting these toxic chemicals in what are considered to be the major sources of human exposure: meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs and their products.
Similar EU restrictions apply to the levels of trace elements in foodstuffs and Fera specialises in detecting these in both ingredients and processed foods. Here again, Fera has developed advanced techniques for example using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry) that allows us to test for up to 60 elements in one analytical run.
If your analytical requirements do not appear to be covered, please contact us using .
| Description | Target LOQ | Units | Determination Step | Matrices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic contaminants | ||||
| PAHs extraction & analysis | 0.02-0.2 | µg/kg | GC-MS | Foodstuffs including fish and fish products, meat and meat products, milk and milk products, eggs, fats and oils Animal Feeds |
| PCDD/Fs & non ortho-PCB analysis | 0.01 | ng/kg | High Resolution GC-MS | |
| PBDD/Fs & non ortho-PBBs analysis | 0.02 | ng/kg | High Resolution GC-MS | |
| ortho-PCB analysis | 0.01 | µg/kg | GC-MS | |
| ortho-PBB analysis | 0.02 | µg/kg | GC-MS | |
| PBDEs analysis | 0.01 | µg/kg | High Resolution GC-MS | |
| Perfluorinated alkyl compounds (e.g. PFOS) | 1 - 5 | µg/kg | LC-MS/MS | |
| Trace elements | ||||
| Multi Element Customer Selection | 0.01-0.7 | mg/kg | ICP-MS | Foodstuffs including fish and fish products, meat and meat products, milk and milk products, eggs, fats and oils Animal Feeds |
| Iodine | 0.01-0.7 | mg/kg | ICP-MS | |
| Inorganic Arsenic | 0.01-0.7 | mg/kg | ICP-MS |