A survey of Δ-THC and relevant cannabinoids in products from the Italian market: A study by LC-MS/MS of food, beverages and feed.

In 2016, the European Commission recommended the Member States to monitor the content of Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids in food and feed derived from hemp and in food of animal origin for possible transfer from feed. Thus, the Italian Ministry of Health implemented a monitoring plan. To this aim, nine cannabinoids in beverages and food for human consumption and in feed were determined. The method applied, based on rapid clean-up and LC-MS/MS determination, was previously developed and in-house validated, evaluating the analytical performance in the concentration ranges 2-50 µg/L for beverages, 0.020-0.500 mg/kg for food and 0.100-10.0 mg/kg for feed. Then, it was applied to determine the cannabinoids in 78 food, 16 beverage and 6 feed samples, collected from the Italian market since 2017. The results are herein reported, for evaluation of both product characteristics and compliance to national maximum limits. Some study cases are also described.