From 6 Hours to 50 Minutes: Faster Dioxin and PCB Extraction from Food Samples

Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that can accumulate in the food chain, making reliable determination in food and feed an important requirement for laboratories involved in food safety and quality control. While chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques provide the required analytical sensitivity, sample preparation can remain a major bottleneck in the overall workflow.

Milestone’s ETHOS X and ETHOS X LEAN microwave extraction platforms provide an alternative to conventional solvent extraction by combining closed-vessel microwave heating with dedicated fastEX rotor technology. A recent application study evaluated the extraction of dioxins and priority PCBs from food samples using ETHOS X and compared the results with conventional Twisselmann extraction.

In the study, a wild salmon sample was extracted using both approaches and analysed by GC-HRMS for dioxins and GC-MS for PCBs. Additional salmon samples from the NIPH Interlaboratory Comparison on POPs in Food 2020 were also analysed to assess the performance of the microwave method. Results showed good agreement between microwave-assisted extraction and Twisselmann extraction across the compounds investigated, while the interlaboratory samples confirmed the effectiveness of the microwave approach.

The productivity difference is significant. Conventional Twisselmann extraction required 6 hours, while the ETHOS X microwave program completed extraction in 50 minutes. With the fastEX-24 rotor, up to 24 samples can be processed simultaneously, enabling more than 200 extractions during an 8-hour working day. Disposable glass vials also eliminate vessel-cleaning steps and help avoid contamination and memory effects, while contactless temperature control supports reproducibility and analyte recovery.

The work on the salmon samples was carried out by SGS Analytics Sweden, providing a practical demonstration of how microwave-assisted extraction can support laboratories seeking higher throughput, shorter turnaround times and reliable results for demanding food-contaminant workflows.

Explore Milestone’s application report library for additional analytical data and workflows, or contact Milestone to discuss microwave-assisted extraction for food and environmental contaminants.