Ubiquitous Occurrence of Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Eco-Friendly Paper-Made Food-Contact Materials and Their Implication for Human Exposure

Abstract

The occurrence of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) was investigated in 94 food-contact materials (FCMs). We detected 6:2 FTOH (<0.60-1110 ng/g), 8:2 FTOH (<0.40-8490 ng/g), and 10:2 FTOH (<0.02-9350 ng/g) in most FCM samples, and four longer-chain C14-20 FTOHs were, for the first time, identified in FCMs with relatively high concentrations (<0.02-8450 ng/g for 12:2 FTOH, <0.02-1640 ng/g for 14:2 FTOH, <0.02-372 ng/g for 16:2 FTOH, and <0.02-130 ng/g for 18:2 FTOH). There were three typical profiles of FTOHs that were dominated by 6:2 FTOH (95.6 ± 8.1% in 9 FCMs), 8:2 FTOH (50.9 ± 20.8% in 22 FCMs), and 10:2 FTOH (44.5 ± 20.9% in 30 FCMs), indicating the congener-specific usage of FTOHs for different commercial purposes. All nine detectable FCMs produced in the United States were dominated by 6:2 FTOH, which was significantly different from those produced in China. The median concentration of total FTOHs in eco-friendly paper tableware was 2990 ng/g, which was lower than in popcorn bags (18 200 ng/g) but much higher than other FCMs (<0.55-38.7 ng/g). FTOHs could migrate from paper bowls, with migration efficiencies of 0.004-0.24% into water, 0.004-0.24% into 10% ethanol, 0.009-2.79% into 30% ethanol, 0.06-13.0% into 50% ethanol (v/v) simulants, and 0.04-2.28% into oil. Migration efficiencies decreased with increasing carbon chain lengths of FTOHs.

PFAS in Paper and Board for Food Contact

“…The above study shows a shift from long chain FTOHs to short chain substances (6:2 FTOH) in US food contact materials, whereas long-chain FTOHs were still more common in samples from China (Yuan et al, 2016). In recent years, there has been some shift away from fluorotelomer surfactants towards per-and polyfluorinated polymers, such as per-and polyfluorinated polyethers (PFPEs) (Dimzon et al, 2016).…”

“…In a recent study, FTOHs were detected in 78% of P&B food packaging materials from China, with the highest median concentration of total PFAS detected in paper tableware (119 ng/g), followed by microwave popcorn bags (112 ng/g) (Yuan et al, 2016). Of the different substances, 10:2 FTOH was the FTOH detected in most samples from China, followed by 12:2 FTOH, 8:2 FTOH, 14:2 FTOH, 16:2 FTOH, 6:2 FTOH, and 18:2 FTOH.…”

“…if PFAS adjuvants are used in pesticides used specifically for potatoes, or some other processing chemical. The migration characteristics of PFCAs and FTOHs of various chain lengths from paper and board into water and food simulant of different ethanol/water solutions (10:90, 30:70 and 50:50) were measured in a recent study by Yuan et al, 2016. The migration efficiencies for both FTOH and PFCA increased with a higher ethanol/water ratio, and short chain FTOHs and PFCAs were shown to have a larger migration from paper and board into water and 10% ethanol compared to long chain analogues (Yuan et al, 2016).…”

Mass defect filtering for suspect screening of halogenated environmental chemicals: A case study of chlorinated organophosphate flame retardants

“…[32][33][34] A suspect screening workflow using liquid chromatography coupled with a high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight (LC/QqTOF) mass spectrometer in conjunction with mass defect filtering (MDF) is presented here as an effective data processing tool to screen known and suspected chlorinated PFRs. The commonality in many chemical classes is that individual compounds in a class share the same or similar core structures as a template and differ in terms of the number and type of repetitive units or functional groups, for example, the class constituents of plasticizers, 35 perfluorinated compounds, [36][37][38] etc., including PFRs. 39 In the case of emerging substitutes and transformed derivatives, while the modifications of chemical structure result in a mass shift, it is expected that their mass defect remains close to that of a corresponding known compound and/or the core structure of a particular chemical class, similar to the case of drug metabolites.…”

8:2 Fluorotelomer alcohol causes immunotoxicity and liver injury in adult male C57BL/6 mice

“…Additionally, 8:2 FTOH was commonly detected in food contact materials (FCMs). For example, 8:2 FTOH was detected in most Chinese and American FCM samples at concentrations ranging from method quantification limits (MQL) to 8490 ng/g and MQL‐8310 ng/g, respectively . 8:2 FTOH in FCMs has the potential to migrate into food, and it has been reported that the migration efficiency of 8:2 FTOH from paper bowls into oil is 2.28% .…”