An improved method validation for rapid determination of acrylamide in foods by ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry

An improved method was validated for the determination of acrylamide in foods using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to eletrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in the present study. This improved method supplies a rapid quantitative procedure of acrylamide with a run time of only 3 min. Results showed a good repeatability (RSD ≤ 4.5%) with 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 μg/kg spiked concentrations in potato crisps in within-day (n = 5) and day-to-day (n = 10) precision tests. Meanwhile, good recoveries (81.6–99.0%) were obtained with the same spiked concentrations in acrylamide-free cereal samples (n = 3). The excellent method validation data and proficiency test results (Z-score: −0.1) of the official Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS) suggested that the present quantitative method could be applied for rapid determination of acrylamide in many investigations.