An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was established for the simultaneous analysis of acrylamide (AA), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), and heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs). A good separation of nine analytes was achieved within 15 min. Correlation coefficients (R 2 >0.9995) of the nine compounds were obtained within their respective linear ranges. The method also possessed low limits of detection (0.3 ng/mL for IQ, Norharman, 7,8-DiMeIQ, 10.00 ng/mL for MeIQ, 5-HMF, 0.05 ng/mL for PhIP, Phe-P-1, 0.10 ng/mL for Harman, 20.00 ng/mL for AA) and limits of quantification (15.00 mg/kg for IQ, Norharman, 7,8-DiMeIQ, 450.00 mg/kg for MeIQ, 3.00 mg/kg for PhIP, Phe-P-1, 300.00 mg/kg for 5-HMF and 750.00 mg/kg for AA). The method developed for the determination of samples commonly found among Sichuan cuisine, and fast food had good precision (RSD<9%) and recovery (83%-113%). This study provides a basis for the simultaneous rapid determination of nine chemical contaminants commonly found in thermally processed meat products and provides a technical reference for the simultaneous rapid determination of more chemical contaminants in thermally processed meat products.
The health risks of exposure to plasticizers have received widespread attention, however, little is known about the effects of fast food packaging plasticizers on steroid hormone synthesis. In the present study, the types and migration of plasticizers in some commonly used fast-food packaging materials were detected by GC–MS, and the interference effects of these plasticizers and their metabolites on steroid hormone synthesis in the human body were evaluated by the H295R steroidogenesis assay. The GC–MS results showed that the main plasticizer compounds that migrated from fast food packaging into food were di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA). Exposure to these chemicals (100–1000 μM) can significantly reduce the viability of H295R cells in a dose-response manner, and these plasticizers and their metabolites that migrated into oily foods at high temperatures (0.25–25 μM) could significantly increase the E2 level and reduce the T level in H295R cells. According to the qRT-PCR data, 0.25 to 25 μM mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) significantly upregulated the expression levels of 17β-HSD1 and CYP19A1, and downregulated those of CYP17A1, CYP11A1 and StAR. The Western blot results were consistent with those of qRT-PCR. In summary, these results indicated that even exposure to low concentrations (≤1 mg/l or 2.5 μM) of these chemicals and their metabolites can cause significant endocrine-disrupting effects.