Acrylonitrile in food contact materials - two different legislative approaches: comparison of direct determination with indirect evaluation using migration into food simulants.

摘要

This study was conducted to compare 2 different legislative approaches for evaluation of acrylonitrile release from food contact materials: assessment of acrylonitrile content in food contact materials based on GC with nitrogen-phosphorous detection (the formerly recommended legislative approach); and evaluation based on determination of acrylonitrile migration into food simulants (distilled water, 3% acetic acid, 10% ethanol and 95% ethanol) using LC with ultraviolet detection (the currently recommended approach). Polymer samples containing acrylonitrile were analysed from 7 kitchen equipment parts (parts of juicer, beater, grater) and 16 acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and styrene-acrylonitrile granulates that are commonly used in the food industry and are intended for contact with foods. The level of acrylonitrile content in moulded polymer mass was in the range 0.4-25.1 mg/kg in the case of kitchen equipment parts and 6.2-283.9 mg/kg in granulates. The highest migration of acrylonitrile into food simulants was 5.2 mug/dm2 for 3% acetic acid and 9.6 mug/dm2 for 95% ethanol. No significant degree of correlation or other systematic relation was found for the tested methods. Results indicated that it is not possible to recommend the older methodology (determination of total acrylonitrile content in polymer mass) as an approach equivalent to the recent legislative requirement (based on acrylonitrile migration into food simulants) for evaluation of acrylonitrile release from food contact materials.