Occurrence of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol content in commonly consumed foods in Hong Kong analysed by enzymatic hydrolysis and GC-MS detection.

The aim of this study was to determine the level of bound 3-monochloropropan-1,2-diol in foodstuffs commonly consumed in Hong Kong, China, by an enzymatic hydrolysis indirect method which proved to be free from interferences. A total of 290 samples were picked up randomly from the local market and analysed. About 73% of these samples were found to contain detectable amounts of bound 3-MCPD. Amongst the 73 food items, bound 3-MCPD was not detected in 13 food items, including extra virgin olive oil, beef ball/salami, beef flank, ham/Chinese ham, nuts, seeds, soy sauce, oyster sauce, butter, yoghurt, cream, cheese and milk. For those found to contain detectable bound 3-MCPD, the content ranged up to 2500 µg kg(-1). The highest mean bound 3-MCPD content among the 14 food groups was in biscuits (440 [50-860] µg kg(-1)), followed by fats and oils (390 [n.d.-2500] µg kg(-1)), snacks (270 [9-1000] µg kg(-1)), and Chinese pastry (270 [n.d.-1200] µg kg(-1)). Among the samples, the highest bound 3-MCPD content was in a grape seed oil (2500 µg kg(-1)), followed by a walnut flaky pastry (1200 µg kg(-1)) and a grilled corn (1000 µg kg(-1)). Basically, the results of this study agreed well with other published results in peer-reviewed journals, except for cheese, cream, ham, nuts and seeds.

Dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic of the Hong Kong population: results of the first Hong Kong total diet study.

Inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, can be found in the environment and food. In the first Hong Kong Total Diet Study, the dietary exposure of the Hong Kong people, including various age-gender subgroups, to inorganic arsenic was estimated for assessing the associated health risk. Food samples, which represented the Hong Kong people's diet, were collected and prepared "as consumed" for analysis. Concentrations of inorganic arsenic, as sum of arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) were determined in 600 composite samples by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The dietary exposures were estimated by combining the analytical results with the local food consumption data of the adult population. The mean and 95th percentile of inorganic arsenic exposures of the Hong Kong people were 0.22 and 0.38µg/kg body weight (bw)/day, respectively. Among the 12 age-gender subgroups, the respective exposures ranged from 0.19 to 0.26µg/kg bw/day and from 0.33 to 0.46µg/kg bw/day. The main food category that contributed inorganic arsenic was "cereals and their products" (53.5% of the total exposure), particularly rice. Having considered the carcinogenic risk of inorganic arsenic to humans, it is suggested that efforts should be made to reduce the inorganic arsenic exposure of the Hong Kong population.

Validation and use of a fast sample preparation method and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in analysis of ultra-trace levels of 98 organophosphorus pesticide and carbamate residues in a total diet study involving diversified food types.

This paper reports a comprehensive sensitive multi-residue liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for detection, identification and quantitation of 73 pesticides and their related products, a total of 98 analytes, belonging to organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) and carbamates, in foods. The proposed method makes use of a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rigged, and safe) procedure that combines isolation of the pesticides and sample clean-up in a single step. Analysis is performed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry operated in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, acquiring two specific precursor-product ion transitions per target compound. Two main fragment ions for each pesticide were obtained to achieve the identification according to the SANCO guidelines 10684/2009. The method was validated with various food samples, including edible oil, meat, egg, cheese, chocolate, coffee, rice, tree nuts, citric fruits, vegetables, etc. No significant matrix effect was observed for tested pesticides, therefore, matrix-matched calibration was not necessary. Calibration curves were linear and covered from 1 to 20 microg L(-1) for all compounds studied. The average recoveries, measured at 10 microg kg(-1), were in the range 70-120% for all of the compounds tested with relative standard deviations below 20%, while a value of 10 microg kg(-1) has been established as the method limit of quantitation (MLOQ) for all target analytes. Similar trueness and precision results were also obtained for spiking at 200 microg kg(-1). Expanded uncertainty values were in the range 21-27% while the HorRat ratios were below 1. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of 700 food samples in the course of a baseline monitoring study of OPPs and carbamates.

Determination of free and reversibly-bound sulfite in selected foods by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection.

A rapid and accurate method for measuring low part-per-million levels of free and reversibly-bound sulfites in selected foods by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorometric detection was developed. Sulfites were extracted with sodium tetrachloromercurate solution and determined by HPLC-fluorescence spectrometry. During the HPLC analysis, the sample extract was reacted with sodium hydroxide to liberate the reversibly-bound sulfite and subsequently separated from other interferences by a size exclusion column. The effluent was then reacted with o-phthalaldehydelammonium chloride reagent to form a fluorescing 1-sulfonatoisoindole derivative and analyzed by a fluorescence detector. The method has been applied to a variety of foods and food products, with no significant interference encountered in matrixes such as soy products, cabbage, broccoli, brassica, ginger, fungus, mushroom, mandarin peel, potato chips, and biscuits. It was shown to have a broad linear range of 0.01 to 0.4 mg/L as SO2. The spike recoveries of sodium sulfite, sodium metabisulfite, and formaldehyde-sodium bisulfite adduct at the 5 to 10 mg/kg level in the tested food matrix were within 80-120%, and the limit of detection was 5 mg/kg. Laboratory of Government Chemist Reference Material LGC7111 (potato powder) was used to assess the accuracy of the method. The expanded measurement uncertainty of the method at 95% confidence level was estimated to be 17%.