Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a principal reactant in the preparation of
polycarbonate (PC) plastics and has
been shown in in vitro cell proliferation studies to exhibit
estrogen-like characteristics. Reusable
baby bottles, water carboys, and other housewares are often made of PC.
A high-pressure liquid
chromatographic (HPLC) protocol was used to determine residual BPA in
PC and BPA migrated to
food simulants in contact with PC under controlled time/temperature
conditions. Confirmation of
BPA was performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC−MS).
Residual amounts of
BPA found in PC food contact articles ranged from 7 to 58 μg/g.
In migration tests the plastic was
exposed to water, ethanol/water mixtures, and Miglyol (a food oil
simulant) in sealed vials at a
constant temperature of 65 °C, for up to 10 days. BPA in food
simulants ranged from 13 to 368%
of BPA available to migrate from the polymer. GC−MS methods were
applied to the analysis of
water stored in reusable PC 5-gal water carboys. The amount of BPA
found in the water ranged
from ND to 5 ppb.
Keywords: Bisphenol-A; polycarbonate; migration; baby bottles;
hydrolysis
A semi-empirical model has been developed for additive diffusion in polymers. The model estimates apparent diffusion coefficients of an additive migrating through polyolefin polymers into a fatty food simulant for a range of temperatures between the glass transition and melting temperatures of the polymer. This diffusion model has been applied to several additive/polyolefin systems to determine its validity and limitations.
Recently, the combination of sodium or potassium benzoate with ascorbic acid was shown to produce low levels (ng/g) of benzene in fruit-flavored soft drinks. The presence of benzene also was reported in butter, eggs, meat, and certain fruits; levels of these findings ranged from 0.5 ng/g in butter to 500-1900 ng/g in eggs. Because benzoates are widely used as food preservatives, a limited survey of other foods containing added benzoate salts was conducted to investigate the potential for benzene formation. Selected foods that did not contain added benzoates but were previously reported to contain benzene were analyzed for comparison. More than 50 foods were analyzed by purge-andtrap or static headspace concentration and capillary gas chromatography. Benzene was quantitated by using the method of standard additions, and its identity was confirmed by mass selective detection. Results of this limited survey show that foods without added benzoates (including eggs) contained benzene at levels equal to or less than 2 ng/g. Slightly higher levels were present in some foods and beverages containing both ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate.
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