Simultaneous determination of sweeteners in beverages by LC-MS/MS

A new method was established for the simultaneous determination of 10 sweeteners and a degradation product in beverages by using LC-MS/MS. An ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) was used as the LC column and 0.1% each of aqueous formic acid and formic acid in acetonitrile were used as the mobile phase. A simple and rapid determination of sweeteners was possible by diluting with a solvent, and in the case of some samples containing a large amount of foreign matter, after pre-treatment by diluting with solvent and clean-up of the sample using an Oasis HLB cartridge. All the validation results were satisfactory. As the regulations and standards for sweeteners vary from country to country, a field survey of 58 beverages marketed in Japan was performed using the present method. No issues concerning the labelling or food sanitation law were found in the tested samples.