Uses of profiling trace metals in food with ICP-MS and Mass Profiler Professional (MPP)

The food and beverage industries have been threatened by fraudulent activities, including counterfeiting, substitution, adulteration, and mislabeling.

Most of this fraud is committed to gain an economic advantage. Elemental profiling using ICP-MS has been proposed as an approach for geographic authentication of various foods and beverages. Using these approaches, we have demonstrated that the elemental profiles of a variety of foods across a range of geographic scales, i.e., across different countries and different regions within a country or state, can be differentiated. This workshop will explain how to use elemental profiles obtained using an ICP-MS coupled with statically software Mass Profiler Professional (MPP) to determine if the variance between samples is adequate to distinguish growing origin.

Presenter: Jenny Nelson, PhD (Application Scientist, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Jenny Nelson received her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 2007, and her MBA from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2011. Currently, Jenny is an Application Chemist for the Life Science and Chemical Analysis team at Agilent Technologies, joining in 2012 (with a step away in 2019). Jenny is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis since 2013. Jenny has been very active with AOAC and ASTM over the past 8 years, serving on expert review panels, chairing committees, and volunteering to develop new methods needed by the industry.