Abstract: A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of 14 adulterated industrial dyes in chilli products was developed by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) based on a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) sample pretreatment method. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile-acetone (7:3, V/V), and then the extract was cleaned up using Enhanced Matrix Removal Lipid (EMR-Lipid). The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Poroshell 120 EC C18 (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 2.7 μm) column. The separated analytes were analyzed with LC-MS/MS by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), and quantified by the external standard method. The results showed that the 14 pigments were separated completely in 11 minutes, and their quantitative detection limits ranged from 0.4 to 7.1 μg/kg. The average recoveries at three spiked levels ranged from 70.5% to 102.1% with relative standard deviations (RSDs)(n = 6) of 0.3%–9.3%. The method is quick, accurate, and sensitive, and can be applied to the determination of 14 adulterated industrial dyes in chilli products.

Key words: QuEChERS, EMR-lipid, LC-MS/MS, chilli products, adulterated industrial dyes