Analytical infrastructure for chemical analysis of food

DTU National Food Institute (Technical University of Denmark) possesses an analytical infrastructure for chemical food analysis, which is part of the national and European food chemical emergency preparedness. The analytical infrastructure can quantify virtually all tiny molecules in foods and other biological matrices, including vitamins, fatty acids, trace elements, and nanoparticles. The purpose is primarily to analyze substances that are relevant to human health.

The infrastructure comprises over 20 modern mass spectrometers, forming the backbone for delivering detailed, reliable, and accurate chemical content data. The institute also analyzes breakdown products caused by lipid oxidation in oils and foods. Lipid oxidation can degrade taste and odour through rancidity and have adverse health effects.

For example, the institute's analytical infrastructure can determine unwanted chemical substances, such as PFAS chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and substances promoting health, such as vitamins and other bioactive compounds.

DTU National Food Institute is DANAK-accredited according to the ISO 17025 standard for a wide range of food chemical analyses and accredited to offer proficiency testing according to the ISO 17043 standard. This accreditation is crucial for the institute's function as the national reference laboratory for most undesirable food substances and as the EU reference laboratory (EURL) for pesticides in cereals and feedstuffs, processing contaminants in foods, and metals and nitrogenous substances in feed and food.