Development of a novel certified reference material for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in whey protein powder.

Matrix-based certified reference materials (CRMs) play a central role in the analysis of food contaminants for ensuring measurement accuracy and comparability, as they exhibit the same matrix effects during sample preparation and measurement as the food sample under investigation. However, the availability of such CRMs is still limited. This is also true for matrix CRMs containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), for which maximum levels in food are set in the EU by the Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 and in Switzerland by the regulation SR 817.