AB SCIEX to Provide Mass Spectrometry Systems for US Food Contaminant Testing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has purchased eight AB SCIEX QTRAP® 5500 Systems for analysis of the U.S. food supply. These mass spectrometry systems will be deployed at FDA headquarters and across seven field laboratories. This supports government initiatives to help ensure food safety.

The FDA conducts ongoing monitoring of the food supply, utilizing advanced analytical methods to detect chemical contaminants. For example, as part of its pesticide compliance program, the FDA samples individual lots of domestically produced and imported foods and analyzes them for pesticide residues. The FDA’s criteria for selecting a new analytical solution to improve results required LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry) technology that integrates quantitative and qualitative analysis on the same platform and performs automated identification of a wide range of contaminants simultaneously.

AB SCIEX met the criteria with the AB SCIEX QTRAP® 5500 System and Cliquid® Software for Food Testing. The QTRAP® 5500 System is a unique, next-generation mass spectrometer that integrates triple quadrupole capabilities with linear accelerator trap technology, combining industry-leading sensitivity and high performance for quantitative and qualitative analysis. Cliquid® Software for Food Testing is an automated software application designed to simplify food contaminant testing with the use of LC/MS/MS instrumentation to identify a comprehensive range of contaminants.

Joe Anacleto, Vice President and General Manager of the Applied Markets and Clinical Research Business, AB SCIEX
“AB SCIEX looks forward to continue working with the FDA to help ensure the safety of the food supply. Consumer protection is clearly a top priority for the FDA, requiring the most accurate and reliable analytical testing capabilities. The AB SCIEX QTRAP® 5500 System is the most powerful system for identifying and quantifying chemical contaminants in any food supply in the world today.”