Title: Control of bovine milk samples by CALUX bioassay and GC-HRMS analysis

Auteur(s): Van Overmeire I ; Carbonnelle S ; Schoeters G ; Van Cleuvenbergen R ; Windal I ; Goeyens L ;  ; 

Year: 2003

Journal: Organohalogen Compounds

Subject(s): analysis ; bioassay ; CALUX ; milk ; dioxin-like toxicity ; toxicity ; food ; feed ; validation ; extraction ; TEQ ; PCDD/F ; PCBs ; PCB ;  ; 

Summary: The CALUX bioassay has recently emerged as a rapid analysis method for the determination of dioxin-like toxicity in environmental, biological as well as food and feed samples. Therefore matrix-specific optimisation and validation of the sample pre-treatment methods, both the extraction and purification techniques, is becoming increasingly important when the bioassay is used as a screening too; for different sample types. In view of checking sample compliance with the regulatory limits for dioxin-like comlounds by using the CALUX bioassay and of validating the bioassay for TEQ determinations the results obtained are often compared to TEQ values for PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs based on GC-HRMS analyses. Even if GC-HRMS results and CALUX TEQ results are difficult to compare for a number of reasons, comparisons are generally considered as a simple way to 'validate' the bioassay's accuracy. When analysing milk samples following different procedures to purify the extracted milk fat, it was observed that the correlation between CALUX and GC-HRMS results differed substantially depending on the cleanup steps. The present paper focuses on the effects of the applied cleanup method on the CALUX TEQ results and discusses consequences and implications for using the CALUX assay as a method for compliance control.