Developing advanced analytical approaches to support risk assessment of novel foods

The supply of plant-based foods on the EU market derived from alternative sources or utilised for new applications is increasing due to a growing focus on food sustainability. However, novel food products may be susceptible to contamination with toxic secondary metabolites, and tailored analytical methods for detection of natural toxins in novel foods are therefore needed to ensure consumer safety.

The project will focus on quantification of fungal toxins, known as mycotoxins, in novel food matrices from the Danish market using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. To achieve this, the BSc. or MSc thesis project is expected to contribute to

• LC-MS/MS Method validation for different mycotoxin classes in various novel food matrices.
• Increasing the scope of the previously established quantification methods.

Additionally, the student can contribute to identifying relevant natural toxins through the literature to generate a spectral library that can be applied for suspect screening using high resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS).

Overall, the student can expect to gain hands-on experience with mass spectrometry as well as insight into how analytical approaches are used in food safety assessments of Danish novel food.