Background: Fatty acid esters of glycidol, 2-Monochloropropanediol (MCPD), and 3-MCPD are heat-induced foodborne processing contaminants with possible adverse health effects. These compounds occur frequently in refined edible oils. Consequently, glycidyl esters and 2- and 3-MCPD esters might also be present in foods that contain refined edible oils. Objective: This manuscript describes the single-laboratory validation of an analytical method for the quantitative determination of glycidol, 2-MCPD, and 3-MCPD present as fatty acid esters or as free 2- or 3-MCPD in infant and adult/pediatric nutritional formula. Methods: Technically, the presented method is based on the combination of a Heat-Ultrasound Pressure-supported Solvent Extraction and a GC-MS determination of glycidol, 2-MCPD, and 3-MCPD. From a chemical perspective, the method includes an alkaline catalyzed transesterification, conversion of the unstable glycidol into monobromopropanediol, and the parallel derivatization of all analytes with phenylboronic acid. Results: Validation results showed that method linearity for all analytes in powdered and liquid infant formula ranged from 0.9981 to 0.9999 (n = 18). Repeatability relative standard deviation values for concentration levels between 1.3 mu g/kg and 331 mu g/kg were in the range of 1 to 12%. Relative recoveries were found to be between 93 and 107%. The analytes were quantifiable down to 5-10 mu g/kg in powdered samples and 1-2 mu g/kg in liquid samples. Conclusions: The reported results met actual AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirements. Highlights: In terms of consumer protection, the presented method is a novel approach for the sensitive and accurate determination of glycidol, 2-MCPD, and 3-MCPD in infant formula and related foodstuffs.
