Development and validation of a GC-MS/MS method for contaminants detection in shellfish

Environmental contamination is an issue in food safety programs. In the last decades, various essential elements and toxic contaminants were investigated in seafood in order to limit exposure of consumers [1]. Fish, and to a lesser extent the molluscs, bioaccumulate contaminants, such as toxic metals and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), which can represent a risk for human. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a QuEChERS extraction and clean up procedure, followed by GC‐MS/MS analysis for the detection of 33 contaminants (organochlorines pesticides (OCPs); polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs); polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) in mussels and clams. Uncontaminated mussel and clam samples were used to validate the method.The validation parameters were good for all analytes. The linearity, expressed as R2, was higher than 0.985, the recoveries were in the range 70–120 % and the repeatability, expressed as coefficient of variation (CV %) was always lower than 20 %, therefore this method meets the validation criteria required by EU guidelines [2]. Finally, the procedure was applied to 10 samples from the wholesale fish market of Milan. DDT metabolites, Benzopyrene, PCBs were often found, especially in mussels. Our results show that the method is effective for the analysis of POPs in shellfish [1] Herceg‐Romanic´ S, Kljakovic´‐Gašpic´ Z, Klincic´D, & Ujevic I. Distribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in cultured mussels from the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, Chemosphere, 114: 69‐75, 2014. [2] SANTE/11945/2015 Guidance document on analytical quality control and method validation procedures for pesticides residues analysis in food and feed.