Multiclass method for fast determination of veterinary drug residues in baby food by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid multiresidue method for the determination of different veterinary drug residues in meat-based baby food (MBF) and powdered milk-based infant formulae (PMIF) has been developed. The method involves an extraction procedure based on buffered QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) methodology, without any further clean-up step, followed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The method has been validated in two baby food matrices (MBF and PMIF) at three different concentration levels, obtaining suitable recoveries and precision (inter and intra-day precision) values. Quantification was carried out using matrix-matched standard calibration. Furthermore, the decision limit (CCα) and the decision capability (CCβ) were evaluated, ranging from 0.5 to 16.2 μg/kg and from 1.2 to 22.4 μg/kg, respectively. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of several kinds of baby food samples and traces of some veterinary drugs were detected.