Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a diverse group of synthetic organofluorine compounds that have been widely used in industrial applications and consumer products such as non-stick cookware, food packaging, fire-fighting foams, carpeting, apparels and metal plating. PFASs are persistent in the environment and are extremely resistant to degradation due to heat, acids or bases. They are also bioaccumulative in humans and wildlife and are known to cause reproductive and developmental toxicity in laboratory animals and wildlife.
This application note summarizes a validated procedure developed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the measurement of 16 PFASs in food using a QuEChERS sample preparation approach and LC-MS/MS analysis. Representative food matrices tested include milk, bread, lettuce, and fish.
Due to the extremely low concentrations of detection required for this analysis, the choice of MS instrumentation is critical to hit necessary cutoff concentrations. In some cases, further clean-up using solid-phase extraction may be required (e.g. using EnviroClean® WAX SPE cartridges, p/n ECWAX126-P). The agency reports that the method’s release is "an important step in furthering collaboration between the FDA and states in assessing the safety of human and animal food from specific areas potentially affected by environmental contamination".
>> Download the Full Application Note as a PDF
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