Optimized screening of chlorinated paraffins in vegetable oils by planar solid-phase extraction

Abstract Chlorinated paraffins (CP) are persistent organic pollutants detected ubiquitously. Their complex composition poses a challenge for analysis. In this study, we optimized a planar solid-phase extraction (pSPE) method for effective matrix separation and quantification of CP in vegetable oils. The pSPE method successfully separated CP from the remaining matrix components and enabled reliable quantification using external calibration relative to a reference standard. The limit of decision and limit of detection for CP in the oil were calculated to 7.8 and 15.7 ng g −1 , showing enhanced sensitivity by a factor of nearly 13 compared with our previous work. Our investigation of the CP contamination in vegetable oils from the German market revealed levels up to 1400 ng g −1 . The detected CP content agreed well with those previously reported in literature. No correlations were found between the CP contamination and the oil processing or the container types.