Rapid determination of benzophenone derivatives in cereals using FaPEx coupled with ultra–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A robust and sensitive analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of the levels of 10 benzophenone derivatives (BPs; BP, BP-1, BP-2, BP-3, BP-8, 2-hydroxybenzophenone [2-OHBP], 4-hydroxybenzophenone [4-OHBP], 4-methylbenzophenone [4-MBP], methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate [M2BB], and 4-benzoylbiphenyl [PBZ]) in 54 breakfast cereal samples. A fast pesticide extraction (FaPEx) technique coupled with isotope-labeled internal standards ultra–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was employed. The developed method exhibited satisfactory linearity (R(2) > 0.998), high precision (intraday and interday relative standard deviations in the ranges of 1.4%–20.8% and 3.2%–23.9%, respectively), and a limit of detection ranging from 0.001 to 0.122 ng/g. BP and 4-MBP were detected in all samples, BP-3 was detected in >59% of the samples, M2BB was detected in 14% of the samples, and 4-OHBP was detected in 7% of the samples. The mean level (range) of BP was significantly higher in corn flakes [146.9 (25.3–1083.8) ng/g] than in oatmeal [22.8 (14.2–67.5) ng/g], and it contributed the most to the overall levels of the BPs, followed by 4-MBP. When the samples were stratified according to their packaging material, the mean level of BP was significantly higher in corn flake samples with plastic packaging (251.9 ng/g) than in corn flake and oatmeal samples with laminated aluminum foil packaging. Two samples of six-grain muesli contained remarkably high levels of BP (1084 and 1055 ng/g); both were nonorganic samples packaged in a polylactide bag. Future studies must examine the possible risks that these contaminants pose to human health.