Evaluation of analytical method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons content in home meal replacement products by GC/MS

This study analyzed four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from frequently consumed home meal replacement (HMR) products in Korea and evaluated their chemical analysis methods. The PAHs investigated were benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[a]pyrene. Chrysene-d12 and benzo[a]pyrene-d12 served as internal standards. The sample was dissolved in dichloromethane before extraction. Liquid–liquid extraction, microwave extraction, alkali digestion and GC–MS were used for analysis. Method validation was conducted on four matrices: fatty solid, fatty liquid, non-fatty liquid, non-fatty solid. Linear correlation coefficients (R²) were all above 0.99 and accuracy ranged from 80.03 to 119.65%. The LOD and LOQ were in the range of 0.03–0.15 and 0.09–0.44 μg/kg, respectively. The recoveries varied from 81.09 to 116.42% and precision ranged from 0.07 to 10.73% in both intraday and interday analysis. All concentrations of total PAHs from HMR products were detected at relatively low concentration. This study could provide the PAHs content from HMR products in Korea.