Determination of ethylenethiourea (ETU) and propylenethiourea (PTU) in foods by high performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-medium-resolution mass spectrometry.

A robust and sensitive method for the determination of ethylenethiourea (ETU) and iso-propylenethiourea (i-PTU) in foods is reported. ETU and i-PTU were extracted by blending with dichloromethane (DCM) in the presence of sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate, thiourea and ascorbic acid. 2H4-ETU and n-PTU were used as internal standards. After filtration the DCM was removed by rotary evaporation and the extract re-dissolved in water before analysis by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with detection by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry using a double focusing mass spectrometer at a resolution of 5000. Mean recoveries of ETU and i-PTU from fruit-based, cereal-based and meat-based infant foods, potato chips and tinned potatos at 0.01 mg kg(-1) and from pizza and yoghurt at 0.02-0.1 mg kg(-1) were 95% and 97% respectively. Precision, including both repeatability and internal reproducibility, was in the range of 3.1-13.1%.