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PerkinElmer Expertise and Solutions Integral to Food Safety Monitoring for the Beijing Games

PerkinElmer
7 Aug 2008

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PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader in Health Sciences and Photonics, today announced that its analytical solutions are being used by the Beijing Municipal Center for Food Safety Monitoring (BFSM) in a mobile laboratory supporting the Beijing Games. PerkinElmer instrumentation, software and expertise are supporting testing for volatile organic compounds in beverages and pesticides in food products.

Since the fall of 2007, PerkinElmer has provided a dedicated applications expert to BFSM, working onsite at the headquarters laboratory to help guide development of methods and applications to support the laboratory and help ensure the safety of the food supply for residents. This expert helped deploy the methods to a mobile lab to support the influx of athletes and international visitors to Beijing expected in August and September. More than 10,000 athletes are expected to dine in the village for sporting teams and an additional 500,000 visitors are anticipated to watch the action and participate in the festivities.

“As part of fulfilling PerkinElmer’s commitment to global health and well-being, we are thrilled to provide expertise, insights and solutions through our Shanghai Global Application Center to the Beijing Center,” said Richard Begley, Ph.D., president, Analytical Sciences, PerkinElmer. “Food safety is a key platform in our EcoAnalytix™ initiative, which addresses the global imperatives of food and consumer product safety, water quality and sustainable energy development to create a healthy and safe environment.”

Collaborating with PerkinElmer on method development on the Clarus® Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) for the detection of contaminants such as pesticides has accelerated BFSM’s capability to conduct accurate analysis and evaluation on food. “We have now transferred this capability to a mobile lab to be closer to the source of the food we need to test,” said Lu Yong, director of BFSM.

PerkinElmer is offering on-call support and technical assistance to the mobile laboratory during the Beijing events and on-going support of BFSM’s headquarters and satellite laboratories in their continued development of methods and applications to help ensure the ongoing safety of the Beijing food supply. PerkinElmer is supporting technical and application development assistance in the areas of gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), atomic absorption (AA), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

PerkinElmer has supported scientists across the world for 70 years in the analysis of the nutritional composition and quality as well as the types and levels of contaminants in foods and beverages. The Company’s Clarus® 600 GC/MS, TurboMatrix™ Headspace Trap and ELAN® DRC™ II ICP-MS are being used for the Beijing testing.

BFSM was established by the Beijing Food Safety Administration in 2004 to provide technical support for food safety management of the Beijing municipal government and to support food safety for the international sporting events in 2008.

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Gas ChromatographyGas chromatography (GC) is an analytical technique used to separate and quantitate mixtures of small and volatile compounds. Gas chromatographs or GC systems include components such as GC columns, detectors, pumps and autosamplers. Choose from packed or capillary GC columns, flame ionization (FID), photoionization (PID) electron capture detectors and selective or non-selective detectors. Find the best gas chromatographs in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.UHPLC and HPLCHigh performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), also known as UPLC, are analytical techniques used to separate, identify and quantitate components of complex mixtures including biological samples such as proteins and lipids as well as chemical mixtures of pesticides, drugs and oils. Both techniques are liquid chromatographic methods but differ by operating pressures (HPLC < 6000 psi < UHPLC ). Components of HPLC and UHPLC systems include columns, detectors, pumps, autosamplers and column heaters. Explore a range of UHPLC and HPLC columns for your specific sample needs including reverse phase, normal phase, ion exchange, HILIC, ion exclusion and size exclusion columns. For more specialized HPLC, explore FPLC, countercurrent LC and simulated moving bed systems. Find the best UHPLC and HPLC equipment in our peer reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Atomic Absorption / Emission SpectroscopyAtomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) — also called optical emission spectroscopy (OES) — are used to detect the elemental constituents in samples. Both techniques involve the atomization of a sample. Atomic absorption spectrometers may use a flame or furnace to create an atomic vapor of the sample before irradiation with spectral light. Optical emission spectrometers may use a flame, inductively coupled plasma (ICP), microwave plasma (MP) or spark arcs to atomize and excite the sample. At higher excitation energies, electrons can be emitted instead of photons, which can be useful for samples that can’t be atomized and for surface analysis. Explore electron spectroscopy equipment such as Auger spectrometers and photoelectron spectrometers for surface elemental analysis of samples. Find the best atomic absorption, photoelectron and optical emission spectrometers in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.Mass SpectrometryMass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical technique used to identify and quantify molecules based on the mass-to-charge ratio of gas-phase ions. It provides detailed information about the structure, composition, and properties of compounds and is widely used across fields such as environmental monitoring, materials science, drug discovery and development, food and beverage testing, and wider chemical research. Key MS techniques include tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LS-MS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). Choosing from these wide range of techniques and technologies can be a daunting task, so keep up to date with scientific applications, performance expectations, and customer reviews here all in one place. Visit our product directory to receive quotes direct from the manufacturer. GC-MS GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) instruments and equipment are used to separate, quantify and identify mixtures of small and volatile compounds, such as polycyclic aromatics, fatty acids and alcohols. Often used in drug detection, forensic investigation and environmental analysis for pesticides and contaminants, GC-MS is a powerful addition to your lab’s analytical capabilities. GC-MS/MS instruments equipped with a qTOF or triple quadrupole analyzers can give greater sensitivity and resolution to your analysis. Find the best GC-MS instruments and equipment in our peer-reviewed product directory: compare products, check customer reviews and receive pricing direct from manufacturers.

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PerkinElmer Expertise and Solutions Integral to Food Safety Monitoring for the Beijing Games