Ion-Mobility Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: A Novel Technique Applied to Migration of Nonintentionally Added Substances from Polyethylene Films Intended for Use as Food Packaging

Abstract

Nontarget analysis of nonvolatile substances in complex samples is a very challenging task that requires powerful analytical techniques and experience of analyzing such samples. An extensive study was conducted in order to identify nonintentionally added substances (NIAS) migrating from 18 polyethylene (PE) samples intended to be in contact with food. The migration assays were performed in five simulants and analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to an ion-mobility separation (IMS) quadrupole-time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer. This experimental setup provides a novel and powerful tool for this type of nonvolatile and nontargeted analysis. Thirty-five compounds were identified, 17 of which were NIAS. Methyl and ethyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propanoate were found to be degradation products of either Irganox 1010 or Irganox 1076. Additionally, breakdown products including hexa-heptadecanamide, N,N′-1,2-ethanediylbis- and 11-eicosenamide were identified together with impurity reaction products, e.g., dibutyl amine or compounds of unknown origin like phosphine oxide, tributyl-. Forty-five percent of the detected compounds are in the positive list contained in Regulation 10/2011/EU, and their migration values were below their specific migration limits. The risk assessment for the rest of the compounds was carried out by comparing their migration values to the maximum concentration recommended by Cramer, e.g., ethyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propanoate and benzenepropanoic acid, 3,5-bis­(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-hydroxy-, 1,1′-[2,2-bis­(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediyl] ester (both class II toxicity), heptadecanamide, N,N′-1,2-ethanediylbis-, and phosphine oxide, tributyl- (both class III toxicity) were above the maximum concentration values for three samples that were migrated to ethanol 95%, and therefore, these samples are not suitable for food contact. The analytical tools and procedures used in this study are presented and discussed in detail.

Oleamide, a Bioactive Compound, Unwittingly Introduced into the Human Body through Some Plastic Food/Beverages and Medicine Containers

“…Due to the fact that oleamide was found to be leaching from some plastic and other labware by our previous study [24], its presence in polymeric containers for food/beverages and medicines and its consequent leaching into the polymer contact liquid was assumed. Migration of oleamide from polymer starting materials used in food packing [9,[25][26][27], food storage containers [28,29] or plastic baby bottles [10] into some food simulants was already reported. Oleamide leaching from baby bibs has also been assessed [30].…”

Safety of Plastic Food Packaging: The Challenges about Non-Intentionally Added Substances (NIAS) Discovery, Identification and Risk Assessment

“…In most cases, and as provided by legislation ((EU) n° 10/2011), the migration study is performed with food simulants in place of the food itself, due to the high complexity that food has typically as a matrix than foods [ 29 , 58 , 59 ]. They should represent the significant physicochemical properties exhibited by each food type.…”

“…Table 4 listed scientific publications that determined breakdown products in different types of plastic food packaging. Most of the studies reported degradation products as NIAS, and most of the reported NIAS are degradation products from the antioxidants Irganox 1010 and Irgafos 168 [ 59 , 70 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ].…”

Evaluation of the presence of potential hazardous substances from plastic and textile fibre recycling

“…Several data acquisition strategies were reported, including Data Independent Acquisition ( all of them may be relevant. In two recent studies Vera et al, 2019), the use of ion mobility MS (IMS) was presented as a way to reduce background noise during acquisition, through drift-time alignment. Through this process, they demonstrated that matrix-interferences can be reduced substantially, leading to cleaner spectra.…”