o:8609 Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction en Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental pollutants with known carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. In order to monitor their presence in complex food and environmental matrices, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was employed as a reli- able sample preparation technique. To minimize environmental impact, green solvents are used as alternatives to more hazardous traditional solvents. Quantification and confirmation of 16 target PAHs were performed using gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), ensuring high sensitivity and selectivity. This study compared toluene and ethyl acetate as PAH extraction solvents in water samples at lower and higher concentrations (10 µg/L and 100 µg/L). Both solvents extracted similar amounts of the 16 target PAHs from water, although the AGREE tool favours ethyl acetate over toluene, due to the former’s environmental and safety benefits. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Liquid-liquid extraction GC-MS/MS, Green chemistry 1552099 10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.44 2025-12-05T08:09:58.012Z 44 yes 46 Nikola Borjan Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4067-3755 Milenko Babić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6467-6757 Damjan Gavrilović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3786-496X Ognjen Krnjaja Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2242-0457 Jasna Đinović-Stojanović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4602-0835 Zoran Petrović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2016-5681 Saša Janković Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Evaluation of greener solvent options for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon extraction person https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5223-6993 application/pdf 626158 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8609 no yes 16 70 92000001 Meat technology - Special Issue 66/3 2025 1-576 66 3 272 277 Kaćanskog 13, 11 000 Belgrade Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology 2025-12-01 www.journalmeattechnology.com