Improvement of a GC–MS analytical method for the simultaneous detection of 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP in food

Chloropropanols such as 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and 1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol (1,3-DCP) are produced by heat treatment in the presence of fat and hydrochloric acid during the manufacture of food stuffs such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein and soy sauce. 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP have been detected in several foods. An efficient, highly selective GC–MS method was developed to determine the concentration of 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP in food. Calibration curves for 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP were constructed, and a correlation of determination (r2) ≥ 0.9990 was obtained. The limits of detection and quantitation for 3-MCPD in food were 0.6 and 2.0 µg/kg, respectively, and those for 1,3-DCP were 0.2 and 0.6 µg/kg, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this GC–MS-based method is a newly improved analytical procedure for the simultaneous separation and determination of 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP, at once and at low levels (µg/kg).