US-based mass spectrometry products provider AB SCIEX has launched a new testing method for laboratories to test for and quantify dicyandiamide (DCD) in dairy products and other protein-rich foods.
The company stated that the new method is designed to increase the accuracy and reduce the amount of time to identify dicyandiamide and other nitrogen-rich compounds with limits of quantitation down to low μg/kg.
It is based on LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry), a technique that has become the industry standard for improving food safety analysis.
AB SCIEX scientists used an Eksigent ekspert ultraLC 100 system, a Phenomenex HPLC column and AB SCIEX QTRAP 5500 technology, in order to achieve accurate results.
AB SCIEX Food & Environmental senior director Vincent Paez said that the company aims to equip scientists and lab technicians with easy-to-use methods that can be implemented quickly and effectively used to prevent the escalation of a food contamination crisis.
" Food testing laboratories are always vigilant about the next contamination outbreak, and they require technological tools from companies such as AB SCIEX," Paez added.
DCD is mostly used by farmers to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and nitrate leaching that can affect waterways. It has also been reportedly used by some to promote the growth of pastures where cows graze. High levels of DCD are considered to be toxic for humans.
