High Throughput Screening of 46 Alternative Plasticizers in Meat Products by Single-Step Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (Sin-QuEChERS) Purification Coupled with Gas Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (GC-Q-TOF-MS)

A high throughput rapid screening and quantitative analysis method based on a new purification method of single-step purification combined with gas chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-Q-TOF-MS) was developed for 46 alternative plasticizers (APs) in meat products, including adipate, citrate, organophosphatate, sebacate and benzoate. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified through a SinChERS-General column, mass spectrometric information was collected in the full scan mode, and a high-resolution MS library of the 46 APs was created for rapid screening and quantitative determination of the target analytes. In order to improve the accuracy of the screening results, the extraction efficiency of different extraction solvents and the impurity removal ability of different purifying agents were investigated. The GC separation conditions and the high-resolution MS screening parameters were optimized, and the quantitative method was validated from the aspects of linear range and accuracy. The calibration curves for the 46 APs showed a good linear relationship (R² > 0.99) in the range of 0.01–0.2 mg/L, the screening detection limit was 0.03–0.05 mg/kg, and the limit of quantitation was 0.05–0.1 mg/kg. The average spiked recoveries were 68.6%–119.3% and the relative standard deviations (n = 6) were 0.6%–8.9% at three different spiked levels (0.1, 0.2, 0.5 mg/kg). The screening strategy was applied to 100 batches of actual samples. Di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate was detected in one batch of porcine head meat, and acetyl tributyl citrate in three batches of sausages. The proposed method is characterized by short detection time, low cost and high detection efficiency and allows rapid screening and quantitative analysis of the 46 APs in meat products, which provides technical support for the monitoring and risk early warning of APs contamination in meat products.