Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a group of toxins produced by several species of plants, that typically grow as weeds. Contamination of other plant crops with PAs, e.g. teas and herbal products can occur as a result of small amounts of these weeds being included with these crops.

These toxins are a potential risk for consumers as they can enter the food chain. Fera has developed an LC-MSMS method to analyse for 28 pyrrolizidine alkaloids each with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 1 μg/kg.