Test kit makes melamine detection easier

Applied Biosystems and MDS Sciex have jointly released
a testing kit, which they claim will help laboratories and food manufacturers
improve safety. Reducing time to test for contaminants could reduce delays in
shipments waiting on results and improve recall effectiveness if products have
already left the plant.

Reduced to 6 minutes
The
method is based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). It reduces
testing time to less than six minutes from the 30 minutes required by current
systems, the companies claim. “The new method is the first commercially
available method to test for both contaminants simultaneously with this advanced
technology,” they stated.

Pet food
Melamine was found
to have contaminated pet food in North America this year and by extension animal
feed. The scare led to concerns over ingredients sourced from China and
increased testing of those products both for human and animal consumption.