Evaluation and identification of chemical migrants leached from baby food pouch packaging

Cheng Tang; María José Gómez Ramos; Amy Heffernan; Sarit Kaserzon; Cassandra Rauert; Chun-Yin Lin; Jochen F Mueller; Xianyu Wang

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139758

Evaluation and identification of chemical migrants leached from baby food pouch packaging

Chemosphere. 2023 Nov:340:139758. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139758. Epub 2023 Aug 9.

Authors

Cheng Tang¹, María José Gómez Ramos², Amy Heffernan³, Sarit Kaserzon⁴, Cassandra Rauert⁵, Chun-Yin Lin⁶, Jochen F Mueller⁷, Xianyu Wang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Minderoo Centre - Plastics and Human Health, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: ken.tang@uq.edu.au.
² Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Department of Physics and Chemistry, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence, University of Almería, Carr. Sacramento, S/n, 04120, La Cañada, Almería, Spain. Electronic address: mjramos@ual.es.
³ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: amy.heffernan@uqconnect.edu.au.
⁴ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: k.sarit@uq.edu.au.
⁵ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Minderoo Centre - Plastics and Human Health, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: c.rauert@uq.edu.au.
⁶ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Minderoo Centre - Plastics and Human Health, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: c.lin@uq.edu.au.
⁷ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Minderoo Centre - Plastics and Human Health, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: j.mueller@uq.edu.au.
⁸ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia; Minderoo Centre - Plastics and Human Health, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: x.wang18@uq.edu.au.

PMID: 37567267
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139758

Abstract

Multilayer plastic pouch (MLPP) has an estimated 9% annual increase of market growth. However, the migrants it can introduce to food has not yet been systematically studied. A total of 79 MLPPs for baby food were purchased from major retail outlets in Australia. The methodology for testing chemical migration followed the design of previous studies using four types of selected simulants according to the European Committee Regulation No. 10/2011 method. Four bisphenols and five phthalic acid diesters (PAEs) were detected, including the ones known for endocrine disrupting effect in human. Three intentionally added and 23 non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) were tentatively identified through a suspect screening procedure. Out of the 23 NIAS, neopentyl glycol - phthalic acid - 1,6-hexanediol - phthalic acid oligomer was identified for the first time with MLPP. A further two NIAS were detected for the first time in baby food related products. For 40% of the pouches where adipic acid - diethylene glycol was detected, the estimated exposure from consuming one pouch of food per day may exceed the threshold of toxicological concern established based on the Cramer classification.

Keywords: Bisphenol; Exposure risk assessment; Multilayer plastic packaging; Non-intentionally added substances; Phthalic acid diester; QToF.

MeSH terms

Food Contamination* / analysis
Food Packaging
Humans
Infant Food / analysis
Phthalic Acids* / analysis
Plastics / analysis

Substances

phthalic acid
Plastics
Phthalic Acids