Rapid screening of chemical contaminants in mealworm larvae with QuEChUP-UHPLC-Q/ToF

This study introduces an innovative rapid screening approach for detecting nearly 1000 chemical contaminants in mealworm larvae, a novel and sustainable food source. By adapting the QuEChUP protocol with a sequential extraction (acetonitrile and acetonitrile/methanol), the method achieves broad chemical coverage, detecting and identifying 86 % and 71 % of compounds at 0.1 mg/kg, respectively. Its originality lies in applying a pooled matrix strategy, replacing the conventional screening detection limit workflow, to accelerate performance assessment while conserving resources-an approach particularly suited for urgent food safety evaluations. Coupling targeted and suspect screening via LC-HRMS enabled simultaneous identification of pesticides, veterinary drugs, PFAS, and emerging contaminants, providing an unprecedented multi-class overview of mealworm contamination. This comprehensive, high-throughput workflow addresses critical data gaps for edible insects, offering a powerful tool for monitoring and guiding the establishment of maximum residue limits in these novel foods. The methodology is transferable to other unconventional protein sources.