A GC/MS method for the determination of 16 European priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked meat products and edible oils

Wolfgang Jira (1) , Katja Ziegenhals (1) , Karl Speer (2)

1 Institute for Chemistry and Physics
2 Institute of Food Chemistry

For the analysis of the 15 PAH highlighted as carcinogenic by the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) and the addition of benzo[c]fluorene, which was recommended to be analysed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in fat-containing foods such as edible oils and smoked meat products, a GC/MS method was developed. This method includes accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and the highly automated clean up steps gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and solid phase extraction (SPE). With the help of this method, which uses a VF-17ms GC column, a good separation of benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[j]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene was achieved. Furthermore, the six methylchrysene-isomers and the PAH compounds with a molecular weight of 302 amu in fat-containing foods attained a better chromatographic separation in comparison to a 5ms-column. The reliability of the analytical method for edible oils was demonstrated by the results from a proficiency test. Measurements with GC/HRMS and GC/MSD led to comparable results. The investigation of the contents of the 16 PAH in 22 smoked meat products showed concentrations in the range of < 0.01 µg/kg to 19 µg/kg. The median concentration for benzo[a]pyrene was below 0.15 µg/kg.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Wolfgang Jira, Katja Ziegenhals, Karl Speer. A GC/MS method for the determination of 16 European priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked meat products and edible oils. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2008, 25 (06), pp.704-713. ⟨10.1080/02652030701697769⟩. ⟨hal-00577433⟩