Analysis of alkylphenol and bisphenol A in meat by accelerated solvent extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

The ubiquity of alkylphenols and bisphenol A (BPA) in the environment is a worldwide scientific and public concern due to the persistence, toxicity and endocrine disrupting properties of these compounds. This paper introduces a new method based on accelerated solvent extraction, with a subsequent cleanup step using amino-propyl solid phase extraction cartridges and liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and bisphenol A (BPA) in different meats. Recovery studies were performed at different fortification levels. The average recoveries of each compound ranged from 91.5% to 99.9% for BPA, 89.0% to 93.3% for NP and 97.8% to 101.3% for OP. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 1.00, 0.20 and 0.40 μg/kg for BPA, NP and OP, respectively. Investigation of the levels in commercial samples indicated that NP was ubiquitous in different types of meat at levels ranging from 0.49 to 55.98 μg/kg, and higher concentrations of NP and BPA were found in aquicolous animals.