Analysis of POPs

Analysing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in food is important because they can be hazardous to health and cause long-term damage. POPs accumulate in the environment along marine and terrestrial food chains. Eurofins Food & Feed Testing assists you in monitoring them to protect your consumers.

Key services

  • All POPs (the original 12 ("Dirty Dozen"), the 10 new POPs included in the Stockholm Convention and the further 5 POPs under discussion)
  • Dioxins (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
  • Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS)
  • (Brominated) flame retardants, including PBDEs, PBBs, HBCD
  • Historically used organochlorine pesticides, including DDT, lindane

Key matrices

Matrices being of importance for analysis are for example: 

  • Food and feed materials of all kinds
  • Environmental samples such as water, soil, sediment, plants, waste and sewage sludge
  • Air samples (emissions/immissions, indoor air)
  • Samples of human origin such as blood, breast milk, adipose tissue

Quality assurance beyond accreditation

Our POP laboratories are accredited according to the criteria of DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018. Important features of the quality of services provided include:

  • Ultra-trace analysis through state-of-the-art instrumentation for detecting of POPs at trace levels
  • Use of certified standards and reference materials
  • Regular and successful participation in external proficiency tests and interlaboratory tests, e.g. Folkehelsa (N), Quasimeme (NL), FAPAS (UK), UMEA University (S), Certification studies for BCR (EU)
  • Active participation in study groups for the development of analysis methods (DIN, CEN)
  • Research and own method development
  • Advice and support from our specialists with many years of experience
  • More than 260 scientific publications and presentations during the last decade

Your Competence Centre for POPs

Eurofins GfA Lab Service GmbH, the POP Competence Centre of the international Eurofins network, located in Hamburg, Germany, is one of the few laboratories worldwide that can analyse nearly all persistent organic pollutants (POPs) banned or regulated in the Stockholm Convention in its own laboratory. 

Furthermore, we are able to analyse all 209 PCBs including the dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs, also known as WHO-PCBs) and ndl-PCBs (non-dioxin-like PCBs, also known as indicator- or ICES6-PCBs) as required by the California Proposition 65.

Eurofins GfA Lab Service GmbH was established in 1985, initially as an environmental laboratory, and has grown and established itself as one of the world's leading dioxin laboratories.

Legal bases and guidelines

Get in touch

Would you like to find out more about our testing solutions, or do you need tailored analytical support? Contact us today to get in touch with our experts.

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