Determination of aflatoxins in edible oil from markets in Hebei Province of China by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Analysis of aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)), B-2 (AFB(2)), G(1) (AFG(1)) and G(2) (AFG(2)) in 76 edible oil samples (peanut oil, soybean oil, corn embryo oil and blended oil) was performed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The oils were sampled from three areas (Shijiazhuang, Baoding and Tangshan) of Hebei Province of China. AFB(1) was detected in 22 samples representing 28.9%, followed by AFB(2) (7.89%) and AFG(1) (3.95%), while no AFG(2) contamination was detected in any samples. AFB(1) levels in oil samples ranged 0.14-2.72 mu gkg(-1) and AFB(2) ranged 0.15-0.36 mu gkg(-1), while lower levels of 0.01-0.02 mu gkg(-1) for AFG(1) were recorded. The paper is part of an on-going investigation of aflatoxin contamination in Chinese edible oils.