Determination of benzene in different food matrices by distillation and isotope dilution HS-GC/MS

Benzene is classified by the IARC as carcinogenic to humans. Several sources may contribute for the occurrence of benzene in foods, such as, environmental contamination and the reaction of benzoate salts with ascorbic acid (naturally present or added as food additives). Matrix effect on benzene recovery (e.g. in fatty foods) and artefactual benzene formation from benzoate during analysis in the presence of ascorbate are some of the challenges presented when determining benzene in a wide range of foodstuffs. Design of experiment (DOE) was used to determine the most important variables in benzene recovery from headspace GC/MS. Based on the results of the DOE, a versatile method for the extraction of benzene from all kind of food commodities was developed. The method which consisted of distillation and isotope dilution HS-GC/MS was in-house validated. Artefactual benzene was prevented by addition of a borate buffer solution (pH 11) under distillation conditions. The method presented in this study allows the use of a matrix-independent calibration with detection limits below the legal limit established by the European Council for benzene in drinking water (1 μg L−1).