Mass spectrometry in the factory: an assessment of recent dielectric barrier discharge ionisation (DBDI) mass spectrometry applications with in-factory analysis potential

Mass spectrometry has developed in several food applications to be the ‘Gold standard’ method of confirming authenticity, detecting contaminants or otherwise assessing quality, with applications adverse as mycotoxin quantification, allergen detection and lipid profiling all making use of some form of mass spectrometry for food safety, security and authenticity purposes. These many varied applications typically are undertaken in a laboratory environment, rather than at line, which causes delays in determining analysis outcomes, limits the potential throughput and creates additional sampling integrity issues, all of which could be significantly improved or overcome if mass spectrometry analysis could be undertaken in-factory (or at points close to primary production).To assess whether a mass spectrometry platform could be deployed in a factory environment, an Agilent Ultivo compact triple-quadrupole instrument, fitted with a Plasmion SICRIT plasma based dielectric barrier discharge ionisation source was used to test a variety of different food products to determine whether such a system, potentially combined with chemometric modelling, could be installed at-line in a factory environment, and what considerations would be needed for such an installation.