AB SCIEX Helps Accelerate Food Safety Testing in Southeast Asia’s Largest Food Producer

Mass spectrometry leader improves safety and quality assurance of Thai food for domestic consumption and exports

SINGAPORE,17 December 2013 – AB SCIEX, a global leader in analytical technology, today announced that it continues to make headway in helping companies accelerate food safety testing efforts in Thailand, Southeast Asia region’s largest food producer and exporter, second to China in Asia.

Dubbed as the “Kitchen of the World,” Thailand is the world’s top exporter of rice and one of the major exporters of cassava, canned pineapples, and seafood products, particularly processed shrimp. According to a report published by the Thailand Board of Investments, the country’s National Food Institute estimated Thai food exports to be worth one trillion baht (US$33-billion) in 2012.

With Thailand’s dominant position in the global food export scene, the Thai government, together with the food industry, is ramping up efforts to ensure food safety and quality. Some of the recent challenges in Thailand include food contamination cases due involving use of illegal antibiotics and excessive or unlisted toxic pesticides. The country has not been immune as well from global food scares.

One of Thailand’s largest food manufacturers recently acquired AB SCIEX QTRAP®4500 LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry) system, a next-generation workhorse technology designed to excel at detection, identification and confirmation of low-level pesticides, veterinary drugs and adulterants.

As part of the food manufacturer’s long-term commitment to food safety, they made a preventive move and decided to use AB SCIEX’s mass spectrometers for routine packaging and transfer testing, a testing procedure on packaging materials, packaging components, primary packages, shipping containers, to make sure foods are free from contamination during the processes of packaging and transportation. AB SCIEX QTRAP® 4500 system increases the sensitivity and selectivity of analysis that greatly enhances the testing capabilities as compared to other conventional methods.

AB SCIEX is also providing help to one of the “Thai Royal Projects”. Initiated by the Royal Thai Family, the projects are a series of activities aimed at propelling the development of agricultural business and improvement in quality of food produces in Thailand. Recently, the Thai Royal Projects acquired AB SCIEX’s QTRAP® 3200 LC/MS/MS mass spectrometers to ensure professional pesticide testing on vegetable produces. In recent years, LC/MS/MS has largely replaced traditional GC and LC methods for the screening of pesticides as it is able to analyze a wider range of compounds in a single analysis, provides unmatched selectivity and sensitivity of Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) and simplifies sample extraction procedures. Such adoption of high-tech instruments that enhance testing capabilities further ensures the quality of foods for domestic use or exports.

Prapat Limpavanitpan, Development Manager in Thailand, AB SCIEX, comments on the new deals: “AB SCIEX prides in being chosen by one of Thailand’s largest food producers as well as the Royal Thai government to aid their food safety and quality assurance initiatives. We have been a dedicated partner in ensuring safety of global food supply chain and we are zealous in helping Thailand maintain its position as a reliable global food supplier. With significant manufacturing operations, R&D and customer application lab in Singapore, we are quick to monitor and deliver innovative solutions to address food safety issues in the region.”

As a leader in next-generation food testing technologies, AB SCIEX has previously worked with various food companies and government laboratories including to detect different allergens, contaminants and chemicals in food products.

About AB SCIEX
AB SCIEX helps to improve the world we live in by enabling scientists and laboratory analysts to push the limits in their field and address the complex analytical challenges they face. The company’s global leadership and world-class service and support in the mass spectrometry industry have made it a trusted partner to thousands of the scientists and lab analysts worldwide who are focused on basic research, drug discovery and development, food and environmental testing, forensics and clinical research. With 30 years of proven innovation, AB SCIEX excels by listening to and understanding the ever-evolving needs of its customers to develop reliable, sensitive and intuitive solutions that continue to redefine what is achievable in routine and complex analysis. For more information about the company, go to www.absciex.com. Follow AB SCIEX on Twitter @ABSCIEX, Facebook and LinkedIn.

© 2013. AB SCIEX. AB Sciex Instruments Are For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. The trademarks mentioned herein are the property of AB Sciex Pte. Ltd. or their respective owners. AB SCIEXTM is being used under license.