Determination of ethylene oxide and 2-chloro-ethanol using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: Internal standard and stainless-steel ball coupled with QuOil in high-fat food extraction

A determination method of ethylene oxide (ETO) and 2-chloro-ethanol (2-CE) in foods, especially those with high-fat content, by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was developed. The analysis was performed with a TG-WAX column (60 m × 0.32 mm × 1 µm), with a programmable temperature vaporization-large volume injection method (PTV-LVI). ETO, 2-CE, and isotope internal standard 2-chloroethanol-d4 (2-CE-d4) were extracted by the QuOil (a variation of QuEChERS method), in combination with the use of stainless-steel balls, especially effective with high-fat matrices and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). For both compounds, the method has high specificity and selectivity with a detection limit of 0.003 mg/kg, the linear range of 0.01 - 0.2 mg/kg, reproducibility and recovery meet AOAC requirements. This method has been applied to analyze 1668 samples during the period 2021-2022 at the National Institute for Food Control (NIFC).