Survey of volatile substances in kitchen utensils made from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene and acrylonitrile–styrene resin in Japan

Abstract

Residual levels of 14 volatile substances, including 1,3-butadiene, acrylonitrile, benzene, ethylbenzene, and styrene, in 30 kitchen utensils made from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene resin (ABS) and acrylonitrile–styrene resin (AS) such as slicers, picks, cups, and lunch boxes in Japan were simultaneously determined using headspace gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (HS-GC/MS). The maximum residual levels in the ABS and AS samples were found to be 2000 and 2800 μg/g of styrene, respectively. The residual levels of 1,3-butadiene ranged from 0.06 to 1.7 μg/g in ABS, and three of 15 ABS samples exceeded the regulatory limit for this compound as established by the European Union (EU). The residual levels of acrylonitrile ranged from 0.15 to 20 μg/g in ABS and from 19 to 180 μg/g in AS. The levels of this substance in seven ABS and six AS samples exceeded the limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Furthermore, the levels of acrylonitrile in three AS samples exceeded the voluntary standard established by Japanese industries. These results clearly indicate that the residual levels of some volatile compounds are still high in ABS and AS kitchen utensils and further observations are needed.

Research progress on sample pretreatment methods for migrating substances from food contact materials

“…Abe et al. [34] detected 14 carcinogenic and toxic VOCs in resin‐made kitchen utensils by HS‐GC/MS, higher temperature (90°C) was applied to determine residual level of volatile substances while lower temperature (60°C) for migration levels using 20% ethanol as simulation. For all analytes, LODs were below 0.13 μg/kg with RSD values ranging from 97 to 104%.…”

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions from a Personal Care Polymer-Based Item: Simulation of the Inhalation Exposure Scenario Indoors under Actual Conditions of Use

“…Moreover, complaints about odor annoyance from polymer-based consumer products have enhanced the need for in-depth investigations aimed at elucidating emission patterns and characteristics. In this regard, investigations carried out on selected polymer-based items such as plastic utensils and children's toys highlighted that VOC emissions are related to the release of residual solvents and monomers from the material polymeric structure and/or the release of additives (i.e., plasticizers, inks) following surface-applied finishing processes such as coloring and printing [18][19][20][21]. VOC emissions from materials and products (i.e., building materials, furnishings, finishing products etc.)…”

The emissions of monoaromatic hydrocarbons from small polymeric toys placed in chocolate food products

“…According to existing literature, the presence of VOCs in children's toys results from the occurrence of unreacted monomers (1,3-butadiene, styrene, acrylonitrile) and solvents (their purity) used in the polymer production e.g. toluene, ethylbenzene, isopropylbenzene, propylbenzene (Abe et al, 2013(Abe et al, , 2014.…”

“…These include: carpet products made of flexible PVC (Lundgren et al, 1999;Wilke et al, 2004), PVC-coated wallpapers (Lim et al, 2014), kitchen utensils (dishes, cups, spoons, forks) (Abe et al, 2014), and covers of electronic devices (TVs, computers, washing machines, etc.) (Jian et al, 2014).…”