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Chapter 2.3. CONFIRMATORY METHODS FOR ORGANIC RESIDUES AND CONTAMINANTS

United Kingdom

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

Confirmatory methods for organic residues or contaminants shall provide information on the chemical structure of the analyte. Consequently methods based only on chromatographic analysis without the use of spectrometric detection are not suitable on their own for use as confirmatory methods. However, if a single technique lacks sufficient specificity, the desired specificity shall be achieved by analytical procedures consisting of suitable combinations of clean-up, chromatographic separation(s) and spectrometric detection.

The following methods or method combinations are considered suitable for the identification of organic residues or contaminants for the substance groups indicated:

Table 1

Suitable confirmatory methods for organic residues or contaminants

Measuring techniqueSubstances Annex 1 96/23/ECLimitations
LC or GC with mass-spectrometric detectionGroups A and BOnly if following either an on-line or an off-line chromatographic separation
Only if full scan techniques are used or using atleast3 (group B) or 4 (group A) identification points for techniques that do not record the full mass spectra
LC or GC with IR spectrometric detectionGroups A and BSpecific requirements for absorption in IR spectrometry have to be met
LC-full-scan DADGroup BSpecific requirements for absorption in UV spectrometry have to be met
LC -fluorescenceGroup BOnly for molecules that exhibit native fluorescence and to molecules that exhibit fluorescence after either transformation or derivatisation
2-D TLC - full-scan UV/VISGroup BTwo-dimensional HPTLC and co-chromatography are mandatory
GC-Elektron capture detectionGroup BOnly if two columns of different polarity are used
LC-immunogramGroup BOnly if at least two different chromatographic systems or a second, independent detection method are used
LC-UV/VIS (single wavelength)Group BOnly if at least two different chromatographic systems or second, independent detection method are used.
  1. 2.3.1Common performance criteria and requirements
  2. 2.3.2Additional performance criteria and other requirements for quantitative methods of analysis
  3. 2.3.2.1Trueness of quantitative methods
  4. 2.3.2.2Precision of quantitative methods
  5. 2.3.3Performance criteria and other requirements for mass spectrometric detection
  6. 2.3.3.1Chromatographic separation
  7. 2.3.3.2Mass spectrometric detection
  8. 2.3.4Performance criteria and other requirements for chromatography coupled to infrared detection
  9. 2.3.4.1Infra-red detection
  10. 2.3.4.2Interpretation of infra-red spectral data
  11. 2.3.5Performance criteria and other requirements for the determination of an analyte using LC with other detection techniques
  12. 2.3.5.1Chromatographic separation
  13. 2.3.5.2Full-scan UV/VIS detection
  14. 2.3.5.3Performance criteria for fluorimetric detection
  15. 2.3.5.4Performance criteria for the determination of an analyte by an LC-immunogram
  16. 2.3.5.5Determination of an analyte using LC with UV/VIS detection (single wavelength)
  17. 2.3.6Performance criteria and other requirements for the determination of an analyte by 2-D TLC coupled to full-scan UV/VIS spectrometric detection
  18. 2.3.7Performance criteria and requirements for the determination of an analyte by GC in combination with electron capture detection (ECD)

Notes on Annex I

Textual amendments

F1

Replaced by virtue of 2003/181/EC: Commission Decision of 13 March 2003 amending Decision 2002/657/EC as regards the setting of minimum required performance limits (MRPLs) for certain residues in food of animal origin (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2003) 764)