Development and validation of a stable-isotope dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of bisphenol in ready-made meals

Due to their growing consumption, ready-made meals are a major dietary component for many people in today's society, representing an important potential route of human exposure to several food contaminants. The recent restrictions in the use of bisphenol A have led the plastic industry to look for alternative chemicals, most of them belonging to the same family of p,p’-bisphenols. However, data on the occurrence of these new bisphenol analogues in foodstuffs are still scarce. Thus, the aim of the current work was to develop and validate a method based on stable-isotope dilution liquid chromatography‒tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of bisphenol A and its main analogues ‒ bisphenol S, 4,4'-sulfonylbis(2-methylphenol), bisphenol F, bisphenol E, bisphenol B, bisphenol Z, bisphenol AF, bisphenol AP, tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol P ‒ in solid foodstuffs, and particularly in ready-made meals. Extraction was assisted by ultrasound after sample disruption with sand. A selective solid-phase extraction procedure was then applied to reduce potential matrix interferences. Derivatization of bisphenols with pyridine-3-sulfonyl chloride increased their ionization efficiency by electrospray ionization. Validation of the proposed method was performed in terms of selectivity, matrix effects, linearity, precision, measurement uncertainty, trueness and limits of detection. Satisfactory repeatability and intermediate precision were obtained; the related relative standard deviations were ≤7.8 % and ≤10 %, respectively. The relative expanded uncertainty (k=2) was below 17 % for all bisphenol analogues and the trueness of the method was demonstrated by spike recovery experiments. Limits of detection ranged from 0.025 µg kg-1 to 0.140 µg kg-1 for all compounds. The proposed method was successfully applied to several ready-made meals purchased from different supermarkets in Belgium. Bisphenol A was detected in all samples at concentrations up to 17.6 ± 2.9 µg kg-1, whereas among the bisphenol analogues, only bisphenol S and bisphenol F were found in one sample of canned beef ravioli.

REGUEIRO TATO Jorge;  WENZL Thomas; 

2015-09-14

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

JRC95493

0021-9673,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC95493,   

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2015.08.037,