Translocation of Phthalates From Food Packaging Materials Into Minced Beef

Denis Baranenko; Mohamed Said Boulkrane; Irina Borisova; Bazhena Astafyeva; Weihong Lu; A M Abd El-Aty

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.813553

Translocation of Phthalates From Food Packaging Materials Into Minced Beef

Front Nutr. 2022 Jan 20:8:813553. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.813553. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Denis Baranenko¹, Mohamed Said Boulkrane¹, Irina Borisova¹, Bazhena Astafyeva¹, Weihong Lu², A M Abd El-Aty^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ International Research Centre "Biotechnologies of the Third Millennium", Faculty of Biotechnologies (BioTech), ITMO University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
² Institute of Extreme Environment Nutrition and Protection, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China.
³ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Medical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.

Abstract

There has been increased concern regarding the potential human health risks associated with exposure to phthalates. Research indicates that food intake is the most critical exposure pathway for phthalates. This study aimed to investigate packaged beef samples for the presence of dimethyl terephthalate (DMTP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and diisooctyl phthalate (DiOP) and to assess their translocation from the common form of food packaging procured from various Saint-Petersburg and Leningrad region shops. The packaging samples include paper and different types of plastic. Phthalates were extracted by dichloromethane and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). While DnBP had the highest mean values in beef from 34.5 to 378.5 μg·kg^-1, DiOP displayed the lowest mean values from LOD to 37 μg·kg^-1. The larger contact area and the presence of distributed fat on the surface of the minced meat resulted in significantly higher phthalate translocation than beef slices. Further, DMTP was not detected in any samples. However, the examined food packages do not meet the requirements of Russian, EU and USA legislation, as DnBP migrates to meat. Calculated maximum DnBP daily intake of 0.167 μg·kg^-1·day^-1 for chilled minced beef in vacuum packaging did not exceed tolerable daily intake (TDI) level. The most alarming results are concerning the phthalates presence in beef farmed in the Leningrad region and not subjected to any plastic packaging. A full-scale study is warranted to determine the pathways and sources of phthalates migration in the food chain.

Keywords: GC-MS; animal raw materials; meat; toxicity; xenobiotics.