Other Contaminants

Aflatoxins are chemicals that are produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus molds that grow in soil and decaying vegetation. They are poisonous and carcinogenic. They are known to be found in in improperly stored foods such as corn, cotton seed, millet, peanuts, rice, sorghum, sunflower seeds, tree nuts, wheat and some spices.

AL-8000-USA (Aflatoxins)

Parameters:

• B1
• B2
• G1
• G2
• Total Aflatoxins

Limit of Quantitation:
1.00 µg/kg (ppb)

Sample Types:
Nuts and Dried Foods

Minimum Sample Size:
500 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS.

Turnaround Time:
5 business days

Analysis Code:
AL-8000-USA (Aflatoxins)

Accreditation:
This test is not currently covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.

Tetracyclines and Antibiotics are both heavily regulated in the meat and dairy industry. These limits are often very low so it is critical to have the lowest possible detection limits. Most other labs offer this analysis using ELISA kits that have to be confirmed by LC-MS/MS. AGQ USA only uses LC-MS/MS to give the most precise and reliable results.

AL-0953-USA (Antibiotics)

Parameter	LOQ
Abamectin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Ac. Oxolinic	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Chloramphenicol	0.3 µg/kg (ppb)
Ciprofloxacin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Diflubenzuron	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Emamectin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Enrofloxacin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Erthromycin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Florfenicol	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Flumequine	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Ivermectin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Sarafloxacin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Spiramycin	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Trimethoprim	1.0 µg/kg (ppb)

Sample Types:
Foods and Animal Feed

Minimum Sample Size:
100 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
3-5 Business Days

Analysis Code:
AL-0953-USA (Antibiotics)

Accreditation:
This test is covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation scope.

Recently the FDA has been putting aquaculture firms on Import Alerts for containing malachite green and/or violet crystal. Importers should be verifying products that they bring in are free from these dyes. It is also important to ensure animal feed is free of these colorants.

AL-1120-USA (Colorants)

Parameters:

• Crystal Violet
• Leuco Crystal Violet
• Leuco Malachite Green
• Malachite Green
• Bright Green

Limit of Quantitation:
0.10 µg/kg (ppb)

Sample Types:
Foods and Animal Feed

Minimum Sample Size:
500 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
5 business days

Analysis Code:
AL-1120-USA (Colorants)

Accreditation:
This test is covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation scope.

Histamine is a chemical that is produced naturally by humans. It is also found in foods at different levels depending on storage of the product. Generally the fresher the product, the less histamine in it. Histamine is known to be the toxin that causes of scrombroid food poisoning in spoiled fish. Additionally some people have also developed a histamine intolerance that require their foods to contain low levels of histamine.

AL-1121-USA(Histamine)

Parameters:
Histamine

Limit of Quantitation:
1.00 mg/kg (ppm)

Sample Types:
Nuts and Dried Foods

Minimum Sample Size:
500 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
5 business days

Analysis Code:
AL-1121-USA(Histamine)

Accreditation:
This test is not currently covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) were once widely used as dielectric and coolant fluids in electrical apparatuses, carbonless copy paper and in heat transfer fluids. Since the 1960s the use of these toxic chemicals has drastically reduced and have been banned all together in the United States since 1979. Many rivers and buildings are still contaminated with PCBs and they have been found in some food supplies.

MS-7500-USA (PCB)

Parameters:

• N° 28
• N° 52
• N° 101
• N° 118
• N° 138
• N° 153
• N° 180

Limit of Quantitation:
0.10 mg/kg (ppm)

Sample Types:
Foods and Animal Feed

Minimum Sample Size:
500 grams

Instrument:
GC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
5 business days

Analysis Code:
MS-7500-USA (PCB)

Accreditation:
This test is covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation scope.

Nitrofurans are a broad spectrum antibiotic that can be used by humans and animals to fight bacterial infections. Nitrofurans binds to cell macromolecules when they are metabolized. This bind is very stable and nitrofurans do not degrade with processing (such as cooking and grilling).

Regulatory Status:
Banned in Food in the U.S. and EU.

The US FDA Import Alert 16-129 contained 38 firms from Bangladesh(1), China(1), India(6), Indonesia(2), Malaysia(27) and Thailand(1) (6/22/16) for nitrofurans. On April 18th, 2016 the FDA made an announcement that 1/3  of shrimp and prawn shipments from Malaysia in 2015 contained the residues nitrofurans and/or chloramphenicol.

Since 2002, the EU equivalent to FDA Import Alerts, RASSF, has had over 800 notifications for nitrofurans in food and feed.

AL-0081-USA (Nitrofurans)

Parameters:

• AHD
• AMOZ
• AOZ
• SEM

Limit of Quantitation:
0.05 µg/kg (ppb)

Sample Types:
Foods and Animal Feed

Minimum Sample Size:
100 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
5 Business Days

Analysis Code:
AL-0091-USA (Nitrofurans)

Accreditation:
This test is covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation scope.

AGQ USA has developed an internally validated method for didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in a wide range of fruits and vegetables. These are two key quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or Quats) that are used for disinfectants, biocides, and plant protection purposes.

In the United States quaternary ammonium compounds are not considered pesticides and therefore do not have MRLs. In the European Union, quaternary ammonium compounds classification as a plant protection active substance makes them subject to EC Regulation 396/2005. The MRLs for quaternary ammonium compounds in the EU is 0.1 mg/kg (ppm).

The RASSF Portal has numerous alerts for these chemicals in food and any exporter to the EU should test their product.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QATs or Quats)

Parameters:
Didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC)
Benzalkonium chloride (BAC)

Limit of Quantitation:
0.01 mg/kg (ppm)

Sample Types:
All types of Fruits and Vegetables

Minimum Sample Size:
100 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
5 business days

Analysis Code:
ML-6000-USA (Quaternary Ammonium)

Accreditation:
This test is not currently covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.

Tetracyclines and Antibiotics are both heavily regulated in the meat and dairy industry. These limits are often very low so it is critical to have the lowest possible detection limits. Most other labs offer this analysis using ELISA kits that have to be confirmed by LC-MS/MS. AGQ USA only uses LC-MS/MS to give the most precise and reliable results.

AL-0952-USA (Tetracyclines)

Sample Types:
Foods and Animal Feed

Minimum Sample Size:
100 grams

Instrument:
LC-MS/MS

Turnaround Time:
3-5 Business Days

Analysis Code:
AL-0952-USA (Tetracyclines)

Accreditation:
This test is covered in AGQ USA's ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation scope.

Parameter	LOQ
Amoxicillin	6.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Chlortetracycline	6.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Oxytetracycline	6.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Penicillin G	6.0 µg/kg (ppb)
Tetracyline	6.0 µg/kg (ppb)