The purpose of this study was to survey concentrations of bisphenols in canned foods using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, to estimate the dietary exposure to bisphenols, and to assess the related risk for the Korean population from the intake of canned foods. The linearity of bisphenols in the range of 2.5 to 725 μg/L was satisfactory with correlation coefficients ( r2) of 0.999. The limit of detection was 0.14 to 5.85 μg/L, and the limit of quantitation was 0.44 to 17.73 μg/L. Sample recoveries were 70.56 to 113.6%, with relative standard deviations below 10% for spiking levels of 50 and 250 μg/kg (15 and 75 μg/kg for BPS). The bisphenol concentrations in 104 canned foods ranged from undetectable to 1,525 μg/kg. The estimated mean daily intake of bisphenols was 0.54 to 78.69 ng/kg of body weight per day, and the 95th percentile daily intake was 1.92 to 134 ng/kg of body weight per day. Therefore, the intake of bisphenols from canned foods for the population in Korea is unlikely to cause human health problems. The analytical methods used are suitable for regular monitoring and assessment of human exposure to bisphenols from foods.
Keywords: Bisphenols; Canned foods; Dietary exposure assessment; Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.