Analysis of Heterocyclic Amines in Food by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A analytical method for simultaneous determination of 10 heterocyclic amines (HCAs) applicable to prepared foods on the market was studied. HCAs were extracted with acidic methanol, and then purified on a diatomaceous column and an ion-exchange column prior to LC-MS/MS. The method was validated within laboratory using three groups among the total diet samples (oils and fats, fish and shellfish, meat and eggs). The method showed good precision and trueness (as recovery) in duplicate analyses over 5 days, though there were some unsatisfactory results. Limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of the method were estimated from the deviation of the analytical results in samples spiked at a level of near 1 ng/g. In addition,13 groups of total diet samples, 27 items of retail food ready to eat and a few foods cooked in the laboratory were analyzed using this validated method. The results showed that the method is applicable to the foods tested in this study and provided information on the content of HCAs in some foods in Japan.