Analysis of four sulfonylurea herbicides in cereals using modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe sample preparation method coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

•Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with modified QuEChERS was developed to determine four herbicides in rice, wheat, soybean and maize.•Acid environment in extraction and the amount of PSA were evaluated in the clean-up step in QuEChERS.•Satisfactory recoveries of four herbicides were between 70.2% and 119.8%.•Real samples showed residues of the tested analytes were below LOQs.