Extraction and analysis of bisphenols and their derivatives in infant and toddler ready-to-feed meals by ultrasound-assisted membrane extraction followed by LC[sbnd]MS/MS

Abstract

This research developed an ultrasound-assisted membrane extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of nineteen bisphenols and their derivatives in infant and toddler ready-to-feed meals. The calibration curves for all analytes were linear in the tested range, and the limit of detection and limit of quantitation were in the range 0.27–0.79 ng/g and 0.80–2.4 ng/g, respectively. The recovery values were in the range of 76–138%. This method was successfully applied to determine the content of bisphenols in 56 real samples of ready-to-eat meals for infants and toddlers. All of the analytes were quantified in at least one sample in the range of 1.0–371.9 ng/g. Mean exposures to bisphenols were estimated to be 9.01–769.49 ng/kg bw/day for both female and male babies. The health risk assessment revealed hazard quotient < 1, indicating that consumption of ready-to-eat meals is unlikely to pose any health risks to babies, even at the highest concentrations found in this study.