Study of plasticizer migration processes from domestic containers used for storage and processing

Trabajo presentado al EURO FOOD CHEM XVIII, celebrado en Madrid los días 13 a 16 de octubre de 2015Food products are produced and distributed worldwide, so leading to very stringent regulations to guarantee food quality safety. Comparison of the various sources of food contamination with organic chemicals suggests that among the public, but also among experts, the perception of risk is often distorted. Therefore, if you ask educated consumers about the principal source of food contamination they will list pesticides as the first item, just few of them would even mention food-packaging materials, although the amount of material migrating from food packaging into food may well be 100 times greater than the contribution of pesticides or environmental pollutants [1]. Plasticizers have been described as being among the most abundant man-made environmental pollutants. Among them, phthalates and other plasticizers have been focus at several surveys and exposure assessments. In addition, bisphenols, such as bisphenol A (BPA), and their derivates with epoxy or clorohydrin groups are known to be endocrine disruptors in humans as well as being potentially carcinogenic [2]. A rapid and sensitive analytical method based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of different food contaminant coming from packaging materials. All the analyses were performed using an Acquity UPLC© BEH Phenyl column (2.1 mm x 50 mm, 1.7 μm, Waters), and the compounds were subsequently analyzed by a Xevo© TQ-S triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Waters) using an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface. Optimal UHPLC-MS conditions were selected based on sensitivity, selectivity and reproducibility terms. Two transitions for each analyte and isotopically labeled internal standard were monitored in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Specific transitions from different precursor to several product ions were studied and the most abundant one was chosen for quantification and the second most abundant for confirmation. This methodology was applied to the study of the influence of main domestic parameter related to storing and cooking such as time, temperature and plastic type material. The results show a clear relationship of dependence between these three experimental parameters and phenomena of migration of this type of contaminants from the container. For doing these experiments, the different food simulants established in the Official Journal of European Union [3] were employed. Acknowledgments Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project AGL2012-37201) JCCM (Postdoctoral contract Resolución de 08/08/2014) References: (1) Gallarta-Ayala H, Núñez O, Lucci P. (2013) Recent advances in LC-MS analysis of food-packaging contaminants. TRAC-Trends Anal Chem 42, 99-124. (2) Poças MF, Hogg T. (2007) Exposure assessment of chemicals from packaging materials in foods: a review. Trends Food Sci Tech 18, 219-230. (3) COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 10/2011of 14 January 2011. Official Journal of European Union.Acknowledgments Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project AGL2012-37201) JCCM (Postdoctoral contract Resolución de 08/08/2014)Peer reviewe