MCPD and glycidyl esters in the food chain
In February Campro held its first ever “Analytical-Workshop“, which took place in Munich, and subsequently in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. This workshop was aimed at chromatographers working in environmental analysis, water treatment, food safety, toxicology, pharmacology and many more analytical fields. Kerstin Knott and Jon Eigill Johansen from Chiron presented about the latest developments with organic flame retardants, as well as MCPD and glycidyl ester in foodstuffs. Among others, representatives from ERA and Campro covered topics like quality assurance for ISO/IEC accredited laboratories, automated sample preparation and dioxin-like toxic and persistent environmental contaminants.
Novel Flame Retardants
As brominated organic flame retardants are banned due to their toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative properties, novel flame retardants (NFRs) appear on the market to take their place. NFRs are, as the name suggests, new on the market or recently observed in the environment. Some of them are found in the Arctic, indicating long-range atmospheric transportation, and are therefore an environmental concern. Yet, there is little known about their toxicity or production volume. Chiron is offering reference materials of the classical flame retardants (e.g. PBDEs) as well as NFRs. View the presentation here (coming soon). Browse Chiron’s Flame retardant catalogue here.
Abstract MCPD and glycidyl esters
MCPD and glycidyl esters are relatively newly identified food contaminants. 2-MCPD and 3-MCPD esters are a diverse mixture of monoesters and diesters, each of them in combination with different fatty acids (palmitic, oleic, stearic, etc.). Glycidyl fatty acid esters exist only as monoesters of different types of fatty acid bound to glycidol. These contaminates are formed in the food processing step often under heat and the presence of chloride anions. Although the formation is not always fully understood, there is a tendency for fatty and salty food to contain relatively high levels of these substances. Free 3-MCPD and glycidyl are classified as carcinogenic by IARC. Chiron offers a large variety of high purity standards including 2-MCPD, 3- MCPD, glycidyl fatty acid esters and deuterium labelled standards. View the presentation here. For more information or to browse available standards please download our BMF here.