What's in Your Chowda: Setting the Table for Contaminant Analysis at Pittcon

First lay some Onions to keep the Pork from burning,
Because in Chouder there can be no turning…

So begins the first known recipe for chowder, published in the 1751 edition of the Boston Evening Post. Chowder holds a special place in Boston's cultural heritage, once being a staple dish for the settlers docking at the port and now glorified in the annual Chowderfest festival. The dish's simplicity, made from ingredients like clams, potatoes, onions, and cream or milk, strikes a satisfying balance—offering the warmth of comfort food with gourmet potential.1

However, this Boston mainstay conceals troubling contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), trace metals, and microplastics. Together, these can poison ecosystems and elevate the risk of myriad human diseases. Though it is relatively simple to analyze each ingredient individually, serving each ingredient together makes this evaluation challenging.

A warm bowl of creamy clam chowder featuring tender clams, diced potatoes, and a rich broth, garnished with herbs and served in a rustic ceramic bowl on a wooden table.

Image Credit: SurrealSee/Shutterstock.com

This year, Pittcon will explore the methods involved in unpicking this culinary conundrum through a series of talks from the "Energy and Environment" track. 

From sea to soup: The harmful trace metals in chowder

Trace metals are naturally occurring elements found in small amounts in the Earth's crust, water, and living organisms. Some trace metals are essential for biological processes, but others are toxic even at low concentrations. For example, prolonged exposure to arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury can lead to severe health effects, including neurological damage, cardiovascular disease, and an increased risk of cancer.2 Below are some of the trace metals potentially present in chowder's ingredients:

  • Clams: By filtering large volumes of water to feed, these shellfish are particularly vulnerable to accumulating trace metals, in particular cadmium and arsenic. Contaminants typically stem from sources like industrial waste discharge, agricultural runoff, coastal mining operations, and natural geological processes.3,4
  • Potatoes: Cadmium's high transfer factor in potatoes, combined with its mobility and availability to potato plants, makes it a concern. Contamination can result from industrial and mining waste, the use of phosphorus fertilizers, organic amendments, and wastewater in agriculture. However, the extent of trace element uptake is highly dependent on both the plant species and the growing environment.5,6 
  • Milk and cream: Studies have reported elevated levels of lead in raw cow milk from Egypt and Slovakia, alongside high concentrations of cadmium and mercury. These metals typically enter milk through livestock grazing on contaminated pastures irrigated with industrial wastewater or drinking polluted water.7

ICP-MS: Trace element analysis for health and safety

Trace element analysis safeguards public health, ensures regulatory compliance, and supports environmental monitoring and industrial safety by detecting toxic metals. A powerful technique for trace metal detection, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) uses a nebulizer to turn liquid samples into aerosols before a plasma torch atomizes and ionizes the samples. Ions are then separated based on their mass-to-charge ratio using a mass analyzer, where they eventually generate measurable signals at the detector.

ICP-MS is widely used in water quality testing, soil analysis, air pollution monitoring, and biological assessments. Its advantages include high sensitivity, broad elemental range, rapid analysis, and extremely low detection limits, ensuring precision and reliability.8

Clamoring for answers

A presentation on trace metal analysis of clam chowder ingredients

On March 2nd, Pittcon will feature a presentation by Michael Howe entitled Microwave Digestion of Difficult Food Matrices Common to the Northeast. This talk will delve into the measurement and comparison of trace metal concentrations across various ingredients in clam chowder, including an analysis of different clam species. The study discussed involves ICP-MS analysis to quantify trace metals following sample preparation via microwave digestion.

With over two decades of experience at CEM, Michael Howe plays a pivotal role as an Analytical Product Specialist, assisting customers with overcoming challenges in microwave digestion. He has also been integral to the development of new features and systems designed to address the evolving requirements of this specialized field.9

A presentation on advanced microplastic analysis with glass expansion's HE-SIS

Directly following the talk above, Pittcon will host a presentation by Dr Ryan Brennan entitled: From Seawater to Shellfish: Microplastics… Find out what's slowly krilling you, and the best way to stay happy as a clam. This talk will explore the analysis of single particles, such as microplastics, using ICP-MS, focusing on the detection of carbon-based particles (13C). It will highlight the benefits of Glass Expansion's High-Efficiency Sample Introduction System (HE-SIS), which improves detection limits and transport efficiency through its innovative design. The presentation will showcase the HE-SIS's application in microplastic studies, single-cell analysis, and nanoparticle research, emphasizing its enhanced sensitivity, compatibility with various ICP-MS platforms, and ease of installation.

With a PhD in analytical chemistry, Dr Brannan is the CEO of Glass Expansion Inc. and runs the USA office to support customers throughout North and South America.10

Please hold the microplastics; I'm PFAS intolerant

Chowder ingredients, such as clams and sea salt, are vulnerable to microplastic contamination due to their exposure to polluted marine environments. Capable of filtering hundreds of liters of water each day, clams can accumulate microplastics from water, while microplastics in sea salt can derive from seawater evaporation as well as production processes.11,12

Analyzing microplastics is vital for health and safety as these particles can carry toxic chemicals and enter the food chain, posing risks to human health. Automated extraction systems, like EDGE PFAS, offer a seamless, rapid, and efficient method for PFAS from environmental samples.13

Shelling out the truth

A presentation on microplastic analysis of Clam Chowder ingredients

On March 2nd, Pittcon will feature a presentation by Alicia Stell, entitled: Automated PFAS Solvent Extraction of Difficult Food Matrices Common to the Northeast, which will discuss the challenges of accurately testing for PFAS in diverse food matrices using New England Clam Chowder as a case study.

Dr Stell introduces the EDGE PFAS automated solvent extraction system, which streamlines PFAS extraction with high efficiency, reproducibility, and minimal cleanup, addressing contamination risks and ensuring reliable analysis. With extensive expertise in chromatographic analysis, Dr. Stell played a key role in the development of the EDGE solvent extraction system and its diverse applications, so she is a key voice in this field.14

A doggy bag of considerations

Analyzing contaminants like trace metals, PFAS, and microplastics in complex food matrices such as chowder is crucial for safeguarding health and the environment.

Pittcon's Energy and Environment track provides an essential platform for showcasing advanced techniques like ICP-MS and automated solvent extraction systems, which address the challenges of accurate testing and regulation. By fostering collaboration and innovation, Pittcon plays a pivotal role in advancing analytical science.

For more information on Pittcon and its contributions to the field, visit www.pittcon.org.

References and further reading

  1. Bose, S. (2022). Melville’s Chowder. [online] The American Scholar. Available at: https://theamericanscholar.org/melvilles-chowder/.
  2. Mielcarek, K., et al. (2022). Arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury content and health risk assessment of consuming freshwater fish with elements of chemometric analysis. Food Chemistry, 379, p.132167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.132167.
  3. Olmedo, P., et al. (2013). Determination of toxic elements (mercury, cadmium, lead, tin and arsenic) in fish and shellfish samples. Risk assessment for the consumers. Environment International, [online] 59, pp.63–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2013.05.005.
  4. Bachvarova, D., et al. (2022). Trace metal accumulation in tissues of wedge clams from sandy habitats of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. BioRisk, 17, pp.73–81. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.17.77290.
  5. Tack, F.M.G. (2014). Trace Elements in Potato. Potato Research, 57(3-4), pp.311–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-014-9268-y.
  6. Molina-Roco, M., et al. (2024). Cadmium (Cd) Accumulation in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cropping Systems—A Review. doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01658-4
  7. Olowoyo, J., et al (2024). Trace metals concentrations in fresh milk from dairy farms and stores: An assessment of human health risk. Toxicology Reports, 12, pp.361–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2024.03.007.
  8. Olesik, J.W. (2014). Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometers. Elsevier eBooks, pp.309–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-095975-7.01426-1.
  9. Gulf Coast Conference. (2021). 2021 Michael Howe Bio. (online) Available at: https://www.gulfcoastconference.com/speakerBio.php?pid=7428&y=2021 (Accessed 16 Jan. 2025).
  10. Glass Expansion Quality By Design. (2018). Customer Support | Glass Expansion. (online) Available at: https://www.geicp.com/cgi-bin/site/wrapper.pl?c1=Aboutus_customer_support (Accessed 16 Jan. 2025).
  11. Lam, T.W.L., et al. (2023). Microplastic contamination in edible clams from popular recreational clam-digging sites in Hong Kong and implications for human health. Science of The Total Environment, (online) 875, p.162576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162576.
  12. Thiele, C.J., et al. (2023). Microplastics in European sea salts – An example of exposure through consumer choice and of interstudy methodological discrepancies. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 255, p.114782. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.114782.
  13. EDGE PFAS Automated Extraction System. Available at: https://cemcontenttype.s3.amazonaws.com/content/media-library/downloads/brochure-edge-pfas-b181-english.pdf (Accessed 16 Jan. 2025).
  14. NEMC. (2023). Biography - NEMC. (online) Available at: https://www.nemc.us/meeting/2021/load_bio.php?id=105 (Accessed 16 Jan. 2025).

About Pittcon

Pittcon is the world’s largest annual premier conference and exposition on laboratory science. Pittcon attracts more than 16,000 attendees from industry, academia and government from over 90 countries worldwide.

Their mission is to sponsor and sustain educational and charitable activities for the advancement and benefit of scientific endeavor.

Pittcon’s target audience is not just “analytical chemists,” but all laboratory scientists — anyone who identifies, quantifies, analyzes or tests the chemical or biological properties of compounds or molecules, or who manages these laboratory scientists.

Having grown beyond its roots in analytical chemistry and spectroscopy, Pittcon has evolved into an event that now also serves a diverse constituency encompassing life sciences, pharmaceutical discovery and QA, food safety, environmental, bioterrorism and cannabis/psychedelics.


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Last updated: Jan 27, 2025 at 11:07 AM

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