Glossary

Analytics

Analytics is a sub-area of chemistry and is referred to there as analytical chemistry. It deals with the examination of various samples for their chemical composition. In agriculture and food processing, analytical chemistry plays a central role in ensuring food safety. For certain substances such as plant protection products there are legal limit values that must not be exceeded in food or drinking water.

Due to advances in measurement technology, substances in the picogram range (trillionths of a gram) can now be detected. As a result, the measured value 0 practically no longer occurs in analyses. The improved traceability strives towards "infinitely small". A sugar cube (5 grams), evenly distributed in Lake Constance, can be detected at any measuring point on the lake. That is why the detection of substances in food or in drinking water alone does not say anything about possible health risks. Or as Paracelsus said, "The dose makes the poison".