Abstract: An analytical method was established for the determination of 14 phenolic compounds in cream by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), and the migration of phenolic compounds from plastic contact materials into cream was studied. The samples were soaked in cream, extracted with acetonitrile/methanol, and separated on a T3 column. The analytes were detected in negative electrospray ionization (ESI) mode with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), and quantified by the matrix-matched external standard method. The migration of bisphenol A (BPA) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) from plastic contact materials into cream was analyzed. The results showed that the limits of detection of the 14 phenolic compounds were 0.15–0.75 μg/kg and the limits of quantification were 0.5–2.5 μg/kg. A good linear relationship was observed for all analytes with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The recoveries for spiked whipping cream and non-dairy cream were 78.2%–117.1% and 79.4%–114.6% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.07%–12.1% and 1.12%–12.5%, respectively. The migration of BPA and 4-NP into cream increased with increasing temperature and contact time. The highest levels of migration of BPA, BPS and 4-NP from plastic cake decorations into cream w were determined to be 4.61, 0.94 and 125.1 μg/kg, respectively. The number of samples that tested positive for 4-NP was the largest. Much attention should be paid to the risk of migration of phenolic compounds into foods.

Key words: high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; plastic contact materials; cream; phenolics compounds; migration