Determination of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol and related compounds in foods

An analytical method has been developed for the determination of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol (TTBP) in foods. TTBP was determined by GC/MS (SIM) after extraction from food samples using a steam distillation technique. The developed method was able to determine simultaneously 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DTBP), 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol (2,6-DTBP), 3,5-di-tert-butylphenol (3,5-DTBP) and 2,4-di-tert-pentylphenol (2,4-DTPP). The method was applied to analyze the residues of the 5 phenolic compounds in 101 food samples purchased from markets. TTBP was found in some samples of meat, liver and fish (muscle) at the levels of trace (tr)similar to0.50 ng/g, tr and tr similar to1.83 ng/g, respectively. 2,4-DTBP was found in some samples of vegetables, meat, liver, fish (muscle) and fish (viscera) at the levels of 1.4 similar to 10.6 ng/g, 2.7 similar to 26.4 ng/g, tr similar to 34.2 ng/g, tr similar to 21.6 ng/g and tr, respectively. 2,6-DTBP was found in some samples of fish (muscle) and fish (viscera) at the levels of tr similar to3.9 ng/g and tr, respectively. 3,5-DTBP and 2,4-DTPP were not found in any of the analyzed samples.