Establishment and application of a high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method for analysis of 15 bisphenols and halogenated phenols in tea

Using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, fifteen bisphenols and halogenated phenols were simultaneously analyzed in tea for the first time in China. Response surface methodology was used to optimize sample preparation conditions based on QuEChERS. Finally, the limits of detection and the limits of quantification were 0.0200–0.173 μg/kg and 0.0892–0.770 μg/kg, respectively. The recoveries were 70 %–120 % for most compounds (except for some compounds at low spiked concentrations) with RSDs <20 %. Then 135 dried tea samples were analyzed. Bisphenol S, A and F were the predominant bisphenol contaminants with detection rates above 80 %, and the median level of bisphenol F (4.90 μg/kg) was even higher than that of bisphenol A (2.74 μg/kg). Bisphenol A ( p  < 0.001) and bisphenol F ( p  = 0.007) were significantly higher in black tea than in green tea. Hazard index was estimated and bisphenols in tea may pose potential risks to human health.