Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), a Useful Tool in Authenticity of Agricultural Products’ and Foods’ Origin

Abstract

Fraudulent practices are the first and foremost concern of food industry, with significant consequences in economy and human’s health. The increasing demand for food has led to food fraud by replacing, mixing, blending, and mislabeling products attempting to increase the profits of producers and companies. Consequently, there was the rise of a multidisciplinary field which encompasses a large number of analytical techniques aiming to trace and authenticate the origins of agricultural products, food and beverages. Among the analytical strategies have been developed for the authentication of geographical origin of foodstuff, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) increasingly dominates the field as a robust, accurate, and highly sensitive technique for determining the inorganic elements in food substances. Inorganic elements are well known for evaluating the nutritional composition of food products while it has been shown that they are considered as possible tracers for authenticating the geographical origin. This is based on the fact that the inorganic component of identical food type originating from different territories varies due to the diversity of matrix composition. The present systematic literature review focusing on gathering the research has been done up-to-date on authenticating the geographical origin of agricultural products and foods by utilizing the ICP-MS technique. The first part of the article is a tutorial about food safety/control and the fundaments of ICP-MS technique, while in the second part the total research review is discussed.

Atomic spectrometry update: review of advances in the analysis of clinical and biological materials, foods and beverages

“…8.2.8 Authenticity. In a summary review paper, Mazarakioti et al 23 neatly collated some of the current work conducted where ICP-MS is the primary tool for investigating food authenticity and origin. The paper discussed the basic principle for ICP-MS and various matrices where the method has been applied for authenticity studies.…”

Recent Advances in the Detection of Food Toxins Using Mass Spectrometry

“…IAC-MS provides exceptional selectivity and can be used for the detection of various types of food toxins such as mycotoxins, pesticides, veterinary residues, and allergens, etc. 81 MS-based approaches have offered diverse and advanced modules for the detection of analytes precisely. Table 2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of MS-based approaches under different conditions.…”

“…The isolated target molecules are injected into the MS component, which provides high sensitivity and identification of toxins based on mass-to-charge ratio. IAC-MS provides exceptional selectivity and can be used for the detection of various types of food toxins such as mycotoxins, pesticides, veterinary residues, and allergens, etc . MS-based approaches have offered diverse and advanced modules for the detection of analytes precisely.…”

Development of an ICP-MS Instrument Simulator: Software for Teaching Elemental Analysis to Undergraduates

“…Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is an expensive but highly sensitive technique that is used to quantify elements. The technique has widespread applications in environmental, , forensic, industrial, and health measurements; , hence, its fundamentals and applications are featured in many analytical chemistry courses. There are a few examples of ICP-MS experiments aimed at undergraduates. − However, opportunities for undergraduates to gain practical experience of ICP-MS are not widespread, owing to the high purchase and running cost of the instrumentation along with the large footprint of some types of ICP-MS and their associated services.…”

“…Inductively coupled plasma−mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is an expensive but highly sensitive technique that is used to quantify elements. The technique has widespread applications in environmental, 6,7 forensic, 8 industrial, 9 and health measurements; 10,11 hence, its fundamentals and applications are featured in many analytical chemistry courses. There are a few examples of ICP-MS experiments aimed at undergraduates.…”