Abstract: QuEChERS purification was established as a sample pretreatment method and combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous detection of six banned fragrance components in tea (coumarin, thujone, 2-exylthiophene, trans-beta-acacene, p-mentha-1,8(10)diene-9-ethyl acetate, and butyl cinnamate). Tea samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and subjected to whirlpool oscillation, following which anhydrous magnesium sulfate, primary secondary amine (PSA), and octadecylsilyl silica gel (C18) were added to the supernatant. After centrifugation, the supernatant was filtered over a membrane and separated on a DB-5MS column. The six compounds were determined by GC-MS/MS in MRM mode, and quantified by a matrix-matched external standard method. The six banned flavor compounds exhibited good linearity over the range of 1-200 μg/L, and the linear correlation coefficients (R²) were greater than 0.999. The limits of detection were 0.005-1 μg/kg and the limits of quantification were 0.02-2 μg/kg, the average recoveries were 82.3%-93.1%, and the intra-day and inter-day RSDs were each less than 10%. The method is simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive, and can be used for the simultaneous detection of six banned fragrance components in tea.

Key words: banned flavor, gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), tea