Multiresidue analysis of 30 organochlorine pesticides in milk and milk powder by gel permeation chromatography-solid phase extraction-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method for simultaneous determination of the 30 organochlorine pesticides (OCP) in milk and milk powder samples has been developed. Prior to the gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric analysis, the residual OCP in samples were extracted with n-hexane and acetone mixture (1/1, vol/vol) and cleaned up by gel permeation chromatography and solid phase extraction. Selected reaction monitoring mode was used for gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric data acquisition to identify and quantify the OCP. To avoid the matrix effects, matrix-matched calibration solutions ranging from 2 to 50 ng/mL were used to record the calibration curve. Limits of quantification of all OCP were 0.8 μg/kg. With the exception of endrin, limits of quantification are significantly lower than maximum residue limits set by the European Union and China. The average recoveries were in the range of 70.1 to 114.7% at 3 spiked concentration levels (0.8, 2.0, and 10.0 μg/kg) with residual standard deviation lower than 12.9%. The developed method was successfully applied to analyze the OCP in commercial milk products.