half maximum). However, in complex
food matrices such as beer, rather limited
mass resolving power of TOF MS leads to
the risk of inaccurate mass measurements
caused by unresolved background matrix
interferences.[1],[ 2] The UHPLC-MS systems
based on Thermo Scientific Orbitrap technology routinely achieve mass resolving
power of up to 100,000 FWHM and maintain excellent mass accuracy up to < 5 ppm
without the use of internal mass correction.
[ 3] High-resolution MS
technology represents
the most interesting
alternative equivalent
to triple quadrupole
mass spectrometry due
to the possibility of
retrospective data mining, such as searching
for newly emerging mycotoxins or their
glucosylated forms.
serves as an advisor on several high-level
EU government committees which allocate
funds for agricultural research. A former
Ph.D. student of Dr. Hajšlová comments,
“When I met Prof. Jana Hajšlová the first
time, she impressed me with her enthusi-
asm and ability to draw attention to the
interesting areas and depths of food chem-
istry and food safety analysis. Besides being
an excellent scientist with a deep knowl-
edge of analytical and food chemistries, she
safety standards, and where processors
have greater opportunities to adulterate
food products. As Dr. Hajšlová describes
it, “The responsibility for food safety
depends on the producers,” and goes
on to say that “it is important that food
safety measures are instituted before the
crop comes to market.” As she sees it,
developing countries should be given
two things: proper analytical equipment
to screen their food in-country, and help
training the personnel needed to run
this equipment. With such a system
in place, she believes, food safety
in the world marketplace would be
significantly improved.
Dr. Jana Hajšlová is a full professor and head of an
accredited laboratory for the analysis of food and
environmental contaminants, toxicants and biologically-active compounds in the Department of Food
Chemistry and Analysis at the Institute for Chemical
Technology in Prague, Czech Republic.
Food Safety Outside of the Lab
Some of Dr. Hajšlová’s most important
work is done outside of the lab. A popular
presenter at conferences worldwide, Dr.
Hajšlová is also a member of the editorial
board of Food Additives and Contami-
nants, and was recently elected chairwom-
an of Recent Advances in Food Analysis
(RAFA), an internationally-recognized sym-
posium series. In addition, Dr. Hajšlová is a
member of International Life Sciences, and
uses her communication and networking
skills to search for new opportunities in
food safety research. Also, being a member
of many international research groups, she
has great influence and excellent insight on
upcoming issues.”
Growing Global Issues
Dr. Hajšlová believes that future food
safety issues will continue to be related
to the globalization of the food chain.
In Europe and elsewhere, more food is
coming from overseas, where farmers
are not subject to such stringent food
A second issue of concern is the
growing problem of food adultera-
tion. These include such well-known
examples as the addition of melamine to
milk, and the addition of carcinogenic Su-
dan dyes to foods such as spices to enhance
their color. The real problem, however, is
that virtually anything can be added to
food. “One of the challenges [in improving
food safety],” says Dr. Hajšlová, “is to use
‘non-targeted’ screening. This means you
are not only checking what is regulated and
what presents a known risk, you are also
taking care of unknown components.”
No matter what the issues, Dr. Jana Hajšlová will continue to stand out from the crowd in the field of food safety.
1. Kellmann, M.; Muenster, H.; Zomer, P.; Mol, H. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2009, 20 ( 8), 1464.
2. Zachariasova, M.; Lacina, O.; Malachova, A.; Kostelanska, M.; Poustka, J.; Godula, M.;
Hajslova, J. Anal Chim Acta 2010, 662, 51.
3. Makarov, A.; Scigelova, M. J Chromatogr A accepted manuscript; DOI: 10.1016/ j.chroma. 2010.02.022
