We're thrilled to welcome Isabel BASTARDO-FERNANDEZ to the Trace Elements and Nanomaterial Team (ANSES).

Isabel joined us this week as the new postdoc of our team. She will be responsible for the assessment of food safety in relation to inorganic contaminants in the 3 value chains addressed in the project (seafood, potatoes and oilseeds).

Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), she will evaluate the presence of up to 20 different metal isotopes (including toxic trace metals such as Pb, Cd, Hg and As) in all types of samples (side streams, ingredients and novel food concepts). For samples containing Hg and As, Isabel will develop and validate matrix-specific methods using HPLC coupled to ICP-MS for speciation analysis in order to identify the most toxic forms of these elements (mainly Hg2+, CH3Hg+, As(III) and As(V)), typically present in seafood.

Since Isabel already completed her PhD in our team, we are confident she will be doing the best job for this project.

Welcome Isabel in the Up4Food team !