A new tool for food safety control, the world's fastest Pesticide Residue Rapid Screening Mass Spectrometry Technique

The Food and Drug Administration today (June 28, 2019) announced the Rapid Screening Mass Spectrometry Technique developed by the TACTRI as the recommended test method for pesticide residues in Taiwan” Testing methods for pesticide residues in food ── Rapid Screening Mass Spectrometry Technique (TFDAP0013.00).”This innovative technique achieves the goal of first inspection and later sales of agricultural products, protects the health and safety of consumers, also marks a new milestone in food safety control technique.

At present, most advanced countries adopt the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) method as the pesticide residue inspection method, and so should Taiwan. The announced method is mainly used to implement food hygiene-related laws and regulations, determine whether pesticide residues meet national standards, and conduct subsequent administrative rulings on the person in charge of rejected products. Although the current method is fast and simple, it still takes 3 to 7 days on average to complete each inspection report. If agricultural products should be checked before sold, a faster and more accurate inspection method will be needed.

In order to enhance the source management of authorities, self-management of food companies, and immediate inspection of agricultural products distributors, from 2013 to 2018, TACTRI has successively implemented the research programs under the instruction of Council of Agriculture, such as” Establish rapid screening technology of pesticide residues for field fruits and vegetables before harvest” ,”Establishment of monitored and regulated agricultural supply chain system for the food safety of school lunch” in response to The Critical Five Rings in Food Safety Policy”,  and “Establish a Rapid Pesticide Residues Screening Method in Food.” Moreover, TACTRI developed and integrated FaPEx® (Fast Pesticide Extraction) fast extraction and purification technique, rapid instrument analysis technique, mass spectrometry data calculation program, successfully developed a pesticide residue rapid screening mass spectrometry technique which able to issue an inspection report in an average of 10 minutes. This technique can proceed a rapid qualitative and quantitative screening on 191 pesticides which are detected by various monitoring programs in Taiwan in the past 3 years. Meanwhile, this technique can in cooperation with the current used method, rapid screening before distribution to immediate control the unqualified products, then confirm by current used method when necessary, to enhance the source management and greatly improve the timeliness of inspection

When this technique is applied before harvesting to ensure that the produce meet national standards before being harvested and marketed; when applied to food industry, and goods can be checked immediately when purchasing to avoid purchasing products with pesticide residues that do not meet the national standards; when applied to agricultural products distributors, it can immediately prevent agricultural products that do not meet the standard from being purchased, shipped and auctioned off. At present, the extraction technology has obtained invention patents in Taiwan, the United States, Japan, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France; while artificial intelligence-like mass spectrometry automatic calculation technology has obtained Taiwan, Japan, and the United States invention patents. Now TACTRI is expanding the application and promotion of this technique, to effectively intercept substandard produce before it flows into the market, and guard the health of the people in Taiwan by fulfilling the effect “first inspection and later sales.”

The Food and Drug Administration announced the Rapid Screening Mass Spectrometry Technique on its website.

Comparison between pesticide residue testing method and rapid screening mass spectrometry technique.

rapid screening mass spectrometry technique guards the health of the people in Taiwan before the unqualified produce is sold.