Determination of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

A method was developed on a gas chromatograph coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS) for trace level determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in food and feed. The results demonstrated good sensitivity and repeatability for PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs at an extremely low level (10 pg mL−1 for 2,3,7,8-TCDD/F), as well as wide linear response of over 3 or 4 orders of magnitude in concentration ranges; 0.5–200 ng mL−1 for PeCDD/F and 0.2–2000 ng mL−1 for DL-PCBs. The method detection limits for PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs were in the range from 0.018–0.17 pg g−1 to 0.13–0.36 pg g−1, respectively. The performance of the GC-MS/MS for food and feed sample analysis showed high precision and accuracy compared to the high resolution gas chromatograph/high resolution mass spectrometer. The results indicated the feasibility of GC-MS/MS as a confirmatory method for the measurement of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in food and feed as required by European Union legislation.