A novel salting-out extraction system for determination of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in liquid samples followed by GC-FID

•A novel salting-out extraction system of potassium triphosphate-ethanol was first reported.•A method for simultaneous analysis of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in food simulants and liquid foods.•The method makes use of the salting-out assisted liquid–liquid extraction of liquid samples and GC-FID.•The proposed method showed a promising application in the analysis of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol in liquid samples.