New Research Highlights Hidden Dangers in Food Contact Materials

Food contact materials (FCMs) are any materials that come in contact with food and beverages. Examples of these materials include kitchen utensils, packaging, and dishes, among other products (1). Because FCMs can be made from materials such as paper and plastic, which contain different chemicals, it is possible that these chemicals in FCMs can enter these food items, which threaten human health (1).

To combat this issue, researchers have been looking at ways to monitor the interactions between food and FCMs. A recent study published in the journal TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry explored this topic. Researchers from the University of Almería analyzed the chemical migration from FCMs into food and emphasized the urgent need for improved regulations to safeguard public health (2).

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In the study, the researchers focused on the increased usage of advanced mass spectrometry (MS)-based analyses to investigate harmful substances, such as bisphenols, that migrate from packaging and other FCMs into food (2). Although the topic of food safety has been a growing concern for decades, Fernandez-Alba's work delves deeper into the inadequacies of current regulations, which, the researchers argue, fail to effectively manage and control the risks associated with FCMs (2).

Using instruments such as gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (GC–QqQ-MS²) and liquid chromatography (LC–QqQ-MS²), the researchers were able to detect and analyze known harmful substances (2). However, Fernandez-Alba's team emphasizes that the real challenge lies in identifying unknown substances that arise from degradation or combination reactions during food contact.

Fernandez-Alba’s team explored using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) in their study. HRMS is a technique that has been used in non-target analysis (NTA) because of its ability to detect unknown compounds (2). NTA, which was initially developed for clinical and food analyses, has expanded to include studies on FCMs (2,3).

Chemometrics was also used in this study to great effect. Fernandez-Alba’s team applied orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to determine which chemical features contribute most to the differences between sample groups (2). By using OPLS-DA, it allowed the scientists to shift their focus to identifying the most critical and potentially harmful substances migrating from FCMs into food (2).

The researchers uncovered several key findings in this study. For one, they learned more about what happens when food is cooked and contacts FCMs. Understanding the chemical changes that take place during cooking could impact FCMs (2). As the researchers showed in their study, the Maillard reaction could result in chemical changes that lead to the formation of new synthetic substances in FCMs (2).

These chemical transformations, the study argues, are not fully replicated in laboratory simulations (2). This raises concerns about the replicability of results and the potential health implications of newly formed compounds, many of which remain unregulated and poorly understood. Fernandez-Alba's team calls for further research to close these knowledge gaps and to better understand the sublethal and synergistic effects of these emerging contaminants (2).

In the conclusion of their study, the researchers turn their focus the current regulations in place to monitor these chemicals in FCMs. The authors argue that the current regulatory framework governing FCMs is not sufficient to meet the current needs of protecting consumer health (2). As they note in the study, the researchers explain that comprehensive control of these materials remains a significant challenge, and updated regulations are needed (2). As Fernandez-Alba and the team point out, advanced analytical techniques, such as HRMS, are invaluable in providing the data needed to inform future regulations.

This study, therefore, shows that HRMS is going to be important in this field as regulations are updated to account for new chemicals and information uncovered by scientists.

References

1. European Food Safety Authority, Food Contact Materials. EFSA.eu. Available at: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/food-contact-materials#:~:text=Food%20contact%20materials%20(FCMs)%20include,and%20intelligent%20food%20contact%20materials (accessed 2024-10-22).
2. Diaz-Galiano, F. J.; Murcia-Morales, M.; Gomez-Ramos, M. J.; et al. Economic poisons: A review of food contact materials and their analysis using mass spectrometry. TrAC Trends Anal. Chem. 2024, 172, 117550. DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2024.117550
3. Chen, Y.; Li, H.; Huang, H.; et al. Recent Advances in Non-Targeted Screening of Compounds in Plastic-Based/Paper-Based Food Contact Materials. Foods 2023, 12 (22), 4135. DOI: 10.3390/foods12224135