A novel analytical method was developed for the determination of 31 β-agonists in pork by high performance liquid chromatography-Q-time of fight mass spectrometry.MethodsThe analytes were extracted from the samples using acetonitrile. After cleaning up with ODS-C₁₈, PSA and MgSO₄, samples were analyzed by HPLC-Q-TOF-MS using an electrospray interface in positive ionization mode. Gradient elution on a Poroshell C₁₈ column (2.1 mm×150 mm, 2.7 μm) allowed to resolve 31 target compounds and 9 internal standards in a total chromatographic run time of 27 min. ResultsThe regression coefficients (r) for the calibration curves (LOQ-100 μg/kg) were above 0.99. The LODs for 31 validated compounds were from 0.01-5 μg/kg. The recoveries were in the range of 39.0%-151.5% with RSD<15% (n=5).ConclusionThe results indicated that the method was simple, rapid, sensitive and suitable for the determination of β-agonists in pork.