A rapid, simple and high-throughput LC-HRMS workflow for contaminants analysis in distilled alcoholic beverages and associated consumers risk assessment

This study demonstrates the efficiency and relevance of a direct-injection LC-HRMS approach for the characterization of chemical contamination in distilled spirit beverages. Sixty-six spirit samples were analyzed using a UHPLC-Q/ToF workflow without extraction or pre-concentration, combining targeted analysis (TA) and suspect screening (SS). Despite its analytical simplicity, strong performances were achieved at very low concentration levels. Detection rates reached up to 61% and 84% of the investigated contaminants at 0.1 ng.mL -1 and 1 ng.mL -1 , respectively, depending on the type of spirit. Screening detection limits (SDLs) were established for 58% of the contaminants at a concentration ≤ 1 ng.mL -1 . The nature of the sample, particularly aged versus non-aged spirits, was shown to significantly influence analytical performance. TA enabled the monitoring of 960 compounds, leading to the identification of 18 chemicals, mainly pesticide residues, including substances not previously reported in spirits. A risk characterization indicated no health concern for EU adult consumers regarding these 18 compounds. SS finally expanded the chemical scope by annotating 17 additional compounds, some of them being toxic such as pyrogallol. Overall, LC-HRMS stands out as an efficient early-warning tool to improve monitoring of contaminants in beverages, and could be easily used in complement to traditional LC-MS/MS systems to investigate emerging or unprioritized chemicals.