Simultaneous quantitative determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in cow's milk and milk-based infant formula by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Handheld Spectral Sensing Devices Should Not Mislead Consumers as Far as Non-Authentic Food Is Concerned: A Case Study with Adulteration of Milk Powder

With the rising trend of consumers being offered by start-up companies portable devices and applications for checking quality of purchased products, it appears of paramount importance to assess the reliability of miniaturized sensors embedded in such devices. Here, eight sensors were assessed for food fraud applications in skimmed milk powder. The performance was evaluated with dry- and wet-blended powders mimicking adulterated materials by addition of either ammonium sulfate, semicarbazide, or cornstarch in the range 0.5-10% of profit. The quality of the spectra was assessed for an adequate identification of the outliers prior to a deep assessment of performance for both non-targeted (soft independent modelling of class analogy, SIMCA) and targeted analyses (partial least square regression with orthogonal signal correction, OPLS). Here, we show that the sensors have generally difficulties in detecting adulterants at ca. 5% supplementation, and often fail in achieving adequate specificity and detection capability. This is a concern as they may mislead future users, particularly consumers, if they are intended to be developed for handheld devices available publicly in smartphone-based applications.

Rapid and sensitive SERS detection of melamine in milk using Ag nanocube array substrate coupled with multivariate analysis

In this study, a facile Ag nanocube (NC) array substrate was fabricated for rapid SERS detection of melamine in milk. This easily-prepared substrate exhibited high Raman enhancement factor (~1.02 × 105) and good reproducibility with ~10.75% spot-to-spot variation in Raman intensity. Our proposed method can detect melamine as low as 0.01 ppm in standard solutions and 0.5 ppm in real milk samples after a simple one-step solvent extraction. Two multivariate analysis tools including partial least squares and support vector machines (SVM) were explored to develop reliable regression models for quantitative SERS analysis of melamine. By comparison, SVM regression models exhibited better predictive performance, especially in liquid milk, with root mean square error (RMSE) of calibration = 5.5783, coefficient of determination (R2) of calibration = 0.9807, RMSE of prediction = 1.9636, and R2 of prediction = 0.9736. Hence, this study offers a rapid and sensitive detection of adulterant melamine in milk samples.

A Plasmonic Mass Spectrometry Approach for Detection of Small Nutrients and Toxins

Nutriology relies on advanced analytical tools to study the molecular compositions of food and provide key information on sample quality/safety. Small nutrients detection is challenging due to the high diversity and broad dynamic range of molecules in food samples, and a further issue is to track low abundance toxins. Herein, we developed a novel plasmonic matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) approach to detect small nutrients and toxins in complex biological emulsion samples. Silver nanoshells (SiO₂@Ag) with optimized structures were used as matrices and achieved direct analysis of ~ 6 nL of human breast milk without any enrichment or separation. We performed identification and quantitation of small nutrients and toxins with limit-of-detection down to 0.4 pmol (for melamine) and reaction time shortened to minutes, which is superior to the conventional biochemical method currently in use. The developed approach contributes to the near-future application of MALDI MS in a broad field and personalized design of plasmonic materials for real-case bio-analysis.

Interlaboratory validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed

Melamine and cyanuric acid have been mixed illegally into food and feed to increase the nitrogen content, which results in deceptively high protein contents. As a consequence, a maximum level for melamine of 2.5 mg kg-1 feed was established by the European Union under Directive 2002/32/EC. The Technical Committee (TC) 327 of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) commissioned the standardisation of a method for the analysis of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed. One main task in the standardisation process is the performance of a full international collaborative trial, which is described in this paper. After performing a pre-trial study, in the main study eight different feed samples with different concentration levels of melamine and/or cyanuric acid were distributed as double-blind samples to 13 participants. The minimum criterion of eight laboratories submitting results per sample is fulfilled for melamine but only partly for cyanuric acid. The evaluation showed for both analytes a Horwitz ratio (HorRat) well below 2, and meets the requirements stated in the appropriate international protocols. The results demonstrated that the method seems to be suitable for the analysis of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed.

Raman spectroscopy as an effective screening method for detecting adulteration of milk with small nitrogen-rich molecules and sucrose

Adulteration of milk for commercial gain is acknowledged as a serious issue facing the dairy industry. Several analytical techniques can be used to detect adulteration but they often require time-consuming sample preparation, expensive laboratory equipment, and highly skilled personnel. Here we show that Raman spectroscopy provides a simple, selective, and sensitive method for screening milk, specifically for small nitrogen-rich compounds, such as melamine, urea, ammonium sulfate, dicyandiamide, and for sucrose. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to determine limits of detection and quantification from Raman spectra of milk spiked with 50 to 1,000 mg/L of the N-rich compounds and 0.25 to 4% sucrose. Partial least squares (PLS) calibration provided limit of detection minimum thresholds <200mg/L (0.02%) for the 4 N-rich compounds and <0.8% for sucrose, without the need for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The results show high reproducibility (7% residual standard deviation) and 100% efficiency for screening of milk for these adulterants.

Development of a surface plasmon resonance immunosensor for detecting melamine in milk products and pet foods

A sensitive and stable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor based on the inhibition format was developed and validated for detecting melamine (MEL) in milk products and pet foods. The sensitivity and the limit of detection (LOD) of the proposed method for MEL were 2.32 × 10(-2) and 1.4 × 10(-3) μg/mL, respectively. The immunosensor was highly specific to MEL, which displayed only low cross-reactivity (CR) (<0.01%) for cyanuric acid, cyanuric chloride, and atrazine. The assay was validated for the detection of MEL in full-cream milk, skim milk powder, infant formula, dog food, and cat food. Most of the recovery results ranged between 76 and 115%. The sensitivities of the assay in each type of sample were 2.57 × 10(-2) μg/mL, 2.32 × 10(-2) μg/kg, 2.51 × 10(-2) μg/kg, 2.66 × 10(-2) μg/kg, and 2.68 × 10(-2) μg/kg, respectively, which were much lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of MEL.

Highly sensitive detection of melamine based on gemini surfactant using enhanced resonance Rayleigh scattering signals

We present here a resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) spectrum method for the determination of melamine at the nanogram level using a gemini surfactant (disodium 4-dodecyl-2,4'-oxydibenzenesulfonate, DDOF). It was found that DDOF could react with cationic melamine to form an ion-association complex, which induced the enhancement of RRS intensity and the appearance of a new RRS spectrum in acetate buffer (pH 3.6). The RRS spectral characteristics of the melamine-DDOF system, the optimum conditions of the reaction, and the influencing factors have been investigated. Under optimum conditions, the enhanced RRS intensity was proportional to the concentration of melamine in the range of 0.38-6.30 μg/mL. The method has high sensitivity, and the detection limit for melamine is 8.48 ng/mL. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism and the reasons of RRS enhancement were evaluated.

Voltamperometric discrimination of urea and melamine adulterated skimmed milk powder

Nitrogen compounds like urea and melamine are known to be commonly used for milk adulteration resulting in undesired intoxication; a well-known example is the Chinese episode occurred in 2008. The development of a rapid, reliable and economic test is of relevance in order to improve adulterated milk identification. Cyclic voltammetry studies using an Au working electrode were performed on adulterated and non-adulterated milk samples from different independent manufacturers. Voltammetric data and their first derivative were subjected to functional principal component analysis (f-PCA) and correctly classified by the KNN classifier. The adulterated and non-adulterated milk samples showed significant differences. Best results of prediction were obtained with first derivative data. Detection limits in milk samples adulterated with 1% of its total nitrogen derived from melamine or urea were as low as 85.0 mg · L(-1) and 121.4 mg · L(-1), respectively. We present this method as a fast and robust screening method for milk adulteration analysis and prevention of food intoxication.

Determination of melamine in milk and dairy products by high performance liquid chromatography

A simple, precise, accurate, and validated reverse-phase HPLC method was developed for the determination of melamine in milk (pasteurized and UHT milk) and dairy products (powdered infant formula, fruit yogurt, soft cheese, and milk powder). Following extraction with acetonitrile:water (50:50, vol/vol), samples were purified by filter (0.45 μm), separated on a Nucleosil C8 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 3 μm) with acetonitrile:10 mmol/L sodium L-octane sulfonate (pH 3.1; 15:85, vol/vol) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, and determined by a photodiode array detector. A linear calibration curve was obtained in the concentration range from 0.05 to 5 mg/kg. Milk and dairy products were fortified with melamine at 4 levels producing average recovery yields of 95 to 109%. The limits of detection and quantification of melamine were 35 to 110 and 105 to 340 μg/kg, respectively. The method was then used to analyze 300 samples of milk and dairy products purchased from major retailers in Turkey. Melamine was not found in infant formulas and pasteurized UHT milk, whereas 2% of cheese, 8% of milk powder, and 44% of yogurt samples contained melamine at the 121, 694±146, and 294±98 μg/kg levels, respectively. These findings were below the limits set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and European Union legislation. This is the first study to confirm the existence of melamine in milk and dairy products in Turkey. Consumption of foods containing these low levels of melamine does not constitute a health risk for consumers.

Evaluation of Colloids and Activation Agents for Determination of Melamine Using UV-SERS

UV-SERS measurements offer a great potential for environmental or food (detection of food contaminats) analytics. Here, the UV-SERS enhancement potential of various kinds of metal colloids, such as Pd, Pt, Au, Ag, Au-Ag core-shell, and Ag-Au core-shell with different shapes and sizes, were studied using melamine as a test molecule. The influence of different activation (KF, KCl, KBr, K(2)SO(4)) agents onto the SERS activity of the nanomaterials was investigated, showing that the combination of a particular nanoparticle with a special activation agent is extremely crucial for the observed SERS enhancement. In particular, the size dependence of spherical nanoparticles of one particular metal on the activator has been exploited. By doing so, it could be shown that the SERS enhancement increases or decreases for increasing or decreasing size of a nanoparticle, respectively. Overall, the presented results demonstrate the necessity to adjust the nanoparticle size and the activation agent for different experiments in order to achieve the best possible UV-SERS results.

Effective separation and sensitive determination of cyanuric acid, melamine and cyromazine in environmental water by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A new method for the simultaneous determination of cyanuric acid (CA), melamine (MM) and cyromazine (CM) in different water samples was developed by using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography diode-array detection (RP-HPLC-DAD). The conditions of HPLC were investigated and optimized. A KROMASIL C18 column (250 x 4.6 mm ID, 5 microm) was used for the RP-HPLC using gradient elution with a mobile phase composed of 0.1 mM KH2PO4-K2HPO4 buffer solution (pH = 7.3) and methanol (75:25, v/v). The conditions for HPLC were investigated and optimized. Under optimal conditions, the linearity was satisfactory in the range of 0.04-10.00 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, and the method limits of detection (LODs) of the proposed method were 0.02 microg/mL for CA and CM, and 0.01 microg/mL for MM. The recoveries were: 96.0-116.0% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.9-5.7% for CA, 94.3-115.0% with RSDs of 1.5-5.3% for MM, and 91.0-112.0% with RSDs (n = 6) of 1.0-4.9% for CM. The proposed method can permit the detection of CA and CM at levels as low as 0.07 microg/mL and MM at levels as low as 0.03 microg/mL in environmental water samples.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method extension to quantify simultaneously melamine and cyanuric acid in egg powder and soy protein in addition to milk products

As a consequence of the adulteration of infant formulas and milk powders with melamine (MEL) in China in 2008, much attention has been devoted to the analysis of MEL [and cyanuric acid (CA)] in dairy products. Several methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), or Raman spectroscopy have been described in the literature. However, no method is available for the simultaneous determination of MEL and CA in other raw materials, which are considered as high-risk materials for economically motivated adulteration. The present paper reports the results of an interlaboratory-based performance evaluation conducted with seven laboratories worldwide. The purpose was to demonstrate the ability of a cleanup-free LC-MS/MS method, originally developed for cow's milk and milk-powdered infant formula, to quantify MEL and CA in egg powder and soy protein. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.02 and 0.05 mg/kg for MEL in egg powder and soy protein, respectively. For CA, LOD and LOQ were 0.05 and 0.10 mg/kg in egg powder and 1.0 and 1.50 mg/kg in soy protein, respectively. Recoveries ranged within a 97-113% range for both MEL and CA in egg powder and soy protein. Reproducibility values (RSD(R)) from seven laboratories were within a 5.4-11.7% range for both analytes in the considered matrices. Horwitz ratio (HorRat) values between 0.4 and 0.7 indicate acceptable among-laboratory precision for the method described.