Internship at BIOR in Riga, Latvia

As part of the Excellence in Analytical Chemistry (EACH) Erasmus Mundus Master’s programme, Amna, Ayobami, and Daniel are currently completing their traineeships at the Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR) in Riga, Latvia.

“Throughout our internship, we have been gaining hands-on experience in the analysis of food and environmental contaminants using advanced mass spectrometry techniques. While each of us is involved in a different area of analytical chemistry, we all contribute to the complete analytical workflow, from extensive sample preparation and clean-up to instrumental analysis using LC-HRMS (Orbitrap), GC-MS/MS, and other state-of-the-art chromatographic techniques.

🔬Amna Khalid is working on the determination of environmental contaminants, including PFAS, PAHs, and chlorinated paraffins, in food samples.

🔬 Ayobami is involved in the analysis of environmental pollutants in food and water samples, contributing to contaminant monitoring and environmental safety.

🔬 Daniel is working on the LC-HRMS and LC-MS/MS analysis of food contaminants, including mycotoxins (DON, Fumonisin B1/B2, Zearalenone, Ochratoxin A, HT-2 & T-2, Aflatoxin B1), acrylamide, microcystin-LR, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, bisphenol A, and the determination of lactose in lactose-free products.

Beyond the technical skills, this traineeship has given us valuable insight into how accredited analytical laboratories ensure reliable, high-quality results and has allowed us to work alongside experienced scientists using cutting-edge analytical instrumentation.

We are grateful to the BIOR team for their guidance and support. We look forward to continuing this learning experience over the next month.”