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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Microbial and Chemical Food Safety » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409492
Research Project: Technology Development, Evaluation and Validation for the Detection and Characterization of Chemical Contaminants in Foods

Location: Microbial and Chemical Food Safety

Title: Analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plastic food storage bags by different analytical approaches

Author
item STROSKI, KEVIN - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Sapozhnikova, Yelena

Submitted to: Journal of Chromatography
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2023
Publication Date: 11/22/2023
Citation: Stroski, K., Sapozhnikova, Y.V. 2023. Analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in plastic food storage bags by different analytical approaches. Journal of Chromatography Open. 4:100106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcoa.2023.100106.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcoa.2023.100106

Interpretive Summary: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous toxic chemicals used in a variety of industrial applications, including production of food contact materials. In our previous study we discovered that fish samples stored in plastic food storage bags for extended period of time (~ 3 months) became contaminated with perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) by transfer from plastic bags. This prompted us to test other plastic food storage bags from different vendors. We found two PFAS: PFBS and 6:2 fluorotelomer phosphate diester (6:2 diPAP) in 57% of the tested bags. Subsequent controlled migration tests showed that only one PFAS - PFBS migrated into food simulants, and the highest migrated amounts were below the established tolerable weekly intakes - regulatory values established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Technical Abstract: In this study, consumer and lab grade plastic food storage bags were subjected to a variety of analytical techniques to investigate the presence and levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Samples were extracted and analyzed by both targeted and non-targeted analyses using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry. Of the 18 bags tested, 57% had detectable levels of PFAS ranging from 0.5 – 26.6 ng/g. Perflurorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) was detected at the highest concentration while 6:2 fluorotelomer phosphate diester (6:2 diPAP) was the most frequently detected. No other PFAS were found in the targeted method. Non-targeted analysis resulted in six potential new PFAS candidates not found within the targeted method, however the lack of available analytical standards did not allow for confirmation. Eight samples with detectable PFAS were chosen for both migration and total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay experiments to understand the potential impact to dietary exposure. No 6:2 diPAP was found to migrate however migration of PFBS was found to be rapid (2 hours) and with relatively high migration efficiencies (22 – 75%). To estimate potential exposure to PFBS migrating from food storage bags, tolerable weekly intake (TWI) values were calculated at 2.12 ng/kg body weight/week, and were below the regulatory TWI value of 4.4 ng/kg established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).