Montosa opens a laboratory for multiresidue analysis
In order to accommodate to a market that is strengthening the technical standards for agricultural waste every passing day, Frutas Montosa has recently opened its own multiresidue analysis laboratory. The intent behind this is to achieve the best guarantee in managing compounds that could be harmful for both the environment and the consumers’ health.
Pesticides (including insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) are widely used in the fruit and vegetable industry to protect its crops from insects, pathogenic agents and weeds. From an environmental and a sanitary standpoint, managing these compounds is crucial, as they can pose a risk to the health of consumers.
This company, based in Málaga (Spain), has now taken a further step in food security by taking the lead in creating its own multiresidue analysis laboratory.
This laboratory will enable the management of chemical residues in fruits regardless of their origin, thus complying with fruit quality standards in all countries of destination
In recent years, the European Union has tightened its restrictions on pesticide residues in food, establishing “maximum residue levels of pesticides.” Alongside these measures, food supply chains are imposing stricter rules which are even more restrictive than the current regulations.
The new laboratory is to include cutting-edge equipment to allow for a top-quality fruit management, as well as the option to analyse a much larger number of samples than it is currently possible
To simultaneously identify and quantify a wide range of pesticides, the Montosa laboratory employs the latest, state-of-the-art techniques such as the extraction and isolation of the to-be-analysed substances from the samples via the QuEChERS technique; afterwards the quantity and quality of the said samples is determined through high-resolution gas-liquid chromatography, using a triple quadrupole mass detector in both cases.
The gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) equipment features an increased analysis sensitivity and offers structural information from molecules. High-resolution liquid chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometry detector (HPLC-MS) allows for the detection of new pesticides with distinct polarity and no volatility with a low limit of detection.
The combination of these two techniques along with highly qualified personnel enables the determination of a large number of pesticides with increased sensitivity and specificity through a wide range of samples. Thanks to this, food quality and security can be guaranteed.
Beside this multiresidue analysis laboratory, Montosa has opened an additional laboratory for research, development and innovation, to be employed for the development of new products for this company
This represents a new commitment to innovation, as Montosa is set on achieving an improved product management that can guarantee the highest quality in all of the countries of destination.
Source: Frutas Montosa
