The growing recognition among the general public regarding the environmental issues associated with fossil-based plastics, coupled with the rising demand for sustainability, has triggered the development of alternatives in the Food Contact Materials (FCM) sector. Bio-based and/or bio-degradable polymers, fibrous material (e.g. bagasse) and wood analogues (bamboo, palm leaf, coconut, reed) are examples of substitute materials, and they must comply with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. However, specific harmonized legislation is only available for plastic FCM, and the understanding of migrating chemicals remains unknown or unidentified. The study aims to bridge this gap, outlining a typical workflow that can be applied to identifying unknown compounds in emerging FCM so that a better overview of (non)-intentionally added substances can be used for safety and exposure assessments.

In the study, 99 substitute FCM were selected. Next, migration experiments were performed according to the Kitchenware guidelines¹ of the European Reference Laboratory (EURL), using simulants B (3% acetic acid) and D2 (95% ethanol) as worst-case. Afterwards, the solutions were analysed by full scan Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Liquid Chromatography – High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The tentative identification was performed using a workflow including spectral deconvolution followed by spectral matching with commercial mass spectral libraries. A data reduction strategy based on procedural blank subtraction was also applied to improve further data analysis.

Finally, the applicability of the developed combined approach for assessing (non)-intentionally added substances in substitute FCMs was demonstrated.

Acknowledgement

The research that yielded these results was funded by the Belgian Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment through the contract TREFCOM (RT 2¼).

References:

(1)        Beldi, G.; Senaldi, C.; Robouch, P.; Hoekstra, E. Testing Conditions for Kitchenware Articles in Contact with Foodstuffs: Plastics, Metals, Silicone & Rubber. 2021.