Chromatography Easter Special

– Food Safety Focus

Easter is here with eggs, chicken, and lamb on the menu! While we enjoy the traditions, food safety remains essential. In this newsletter, we focus on sample cleanup and analysis of Easter-related foods like eggs, chicken, and lamb. We look at current challenges such as pesticides, antibiotics, and other contaminants – and how our QuEChERS products from Teknokroma can help laboratories achieve precise results. Let’s dive in!

Current Concerns for Eggs: Pesticides, Antibiotics, and More

Eggs are a centerpiece of Easter celebrations, but they can contain traces of contaminants from production. Recent studies have shown increasing presence of persistent chemicals such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals in eggs – even in backyard production. For example, a 2025 Greek study found high levels of PFAS in home-produced eggs, with some exceeding the EU tolerable weekly intake limits1. Pesticides like dinoterb and DEET were also detected in all samples, highlighting the need for regular monitoring.

Antibiotic residues are another hot topic. In December 2025, India’s FSSAI launched a nationwide egg testing campaign after detecting banned nitrofurans (an antibiotic group) in commercial products2. Nitrofurans are prohibited in food production due to potential carcinogenic risks, and even small amounts can accumulate via environmental factors such as contaminated water. In Europe and the Nordic countries, similar concerns exist – especially with the EU’s strict limits on PFAS in eggs (e.g., PFOS and PFHxS), which require advanced analytical methods to ensure compliance.

These challenges make it essential for laboratories to have effective methods for detecting and quantifying contaminants like pesticides and antibiotics in eggs – to protect consumers during high-demand periods like Easter.

Extending to Chicken and Lamb: Residues in Meat

Chicken and lamb are also Easter favorites, but they carry similar risks. For chicken, antibiotic overuse remains a global issue, leading to resistance and residues in both meat and eggs. In lamb, pesticides and dioxins from grazing are a focus area. USDA and EU monitoring programs (such as the National Residue Program) test for pesticides, veterinary drugs, and contaminants in meat products.

Overall, the raised risk of higher pesticide levels in foods, demands robust cleanup methods for accurate analysis.

Teknokroma QuEChERS: Your Partner in Food Cleanup

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To address these challenges, the QuEChERS method (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) is ideal for extracting pesticides, antibiotics, and other residues from complex matrices such as eggs, chicken meat, and lamb. QuEChERS involves solvent extraction with acetonitrile, salting-out with magnesium sulfate, and cleanup with dispersive SPE sorbents – delivering high recoveries and minimal matrix interference.

Teknokroma’s QuEChERS kits are specially designed for food analysis:

  • Extraction Kits: For fast isolation of pesticides and veterinary drugs from eggs and meat.
  • Cleanup Kits: With PSA, C18, or other sorbents to remove fats and proteins – perfect for LC-MS/MS or GC-MS/MS.
  • Application in Eggs: Multiple studies show QuEChERS effectively detects 60+ pesticides in eggs using LC-MS/MS, with good recoveries and low detection limits. Modified versions also handle antibiotics such as tetracyclines and quinolones. For example, QuEChERS combined with emulsification-demulsification enables simultaneous analysis of 107 pesticides and veterinary drugs in eggs.

At Nordic Biolabs, we offer the full Teknokroma range, including kits for high-throughput analysis – ideal for laboratories handling increased Easter demand for food safety testing. Contact us for quotes or test-products!

Easter Analysis Tips

  • Eggs: Test for PFAS, pesticides, and nitrofurans using QuEChERS + LC-MS/MS to ensure EU compliance.
  • Chicken/Lamb: Use QuEChERS for multi-residue analysis of antibiotics and pesticides to avoid resistance risks.
  • New FSMA Rule (USA): From January 2026, the rule requires better traceability for high-risk foods like eggs – QuEChERS helps with rapid contaminant identification.


We wish you a safe and joyful Easter!

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Get 20% off your next purchase of sample preparation products from Teknokroma!

Instructions:

  1. Read the Chromatography Easter Newsletter
  2. Place an order on any Teknokroma sample preparation product. Use the code EASTER20 to get 20% off
  3. Make sure to place your order with the promo code before Friday 13th of March

When you place an order you are automatically added to the lottery, and have the chance to win a special prize! Announced 16th of March. 

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1 Arvaniti, Olga S. et al. Occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals in Greek backyard chicken eggs and estimation of the consumption risk. Science of The Total Environment. 998: 10 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180253
2 Dias, Samuel. FSSAI launches egg safety drive: What is it and how it is going to help customers. The Times of India. (2025-12-17). https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/fssai-launches-egg-safety-drive-what-is-it-and-how-it-is-going-to-help-customers/photostory/126001094.cms

Looking for more information? Contact us at Nordic Biolabs, we are happy to help!
Iben Kofoed Piper