Assessment of phthalate migration in polyethylene food contact materials sold on the Ghanaian market

Abstract

Chemical contaminants that migrate into food may affect the safety and quality of the food depending on the nature and composition of the packaging material. The introduction of different packaging materials and designs have increased the specific hazards that humans are exposed to due to chemical migration into food. In Ghana, these food contact materials are not only used for food storage or transportation but also, foods such as kenkey are cooked with these food contact materials at very high temperatures for longer periods hence increasing the possibility of the migration rate and thereby posing hazard to consumers. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality and safety of polyethylene food contact materials used in the Ghanaian food industry in terms of phthalate migration. Five different polyethylene food contact materials specifically black polyethylene bags (BPB), plain polyethylene bags (TAB), thick plain polyethylene films/bags (TPB), polyethylene food containers (PFC) and polyethylene plastic bottles (PPB) were purchased from three different markets namely; Madina, Makola and Kwame Nkrumah circle within the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. The samples were analysed using a GC-MS after extraction with aqueous and fatty foods simulants.

Keywords:

• contact materials
• polyethylene
• gcms
• migration
• phthalates
• plasticizers

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

The use of plastics in food handling and processing in the packaging industry has increased significantly in recent times.

Polyethylene for example, is widely used as a packaging material to wrap all kinds of food. These plastics have the tendency of presenting a source of contamination through the leaching of toxic chemicals such as phthalates, used as plasticizers during the manufacturing process, which can be deleterious to human health. These chemicals such as di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalates are toxic and can cause damage to reproduction and development, alter liver and kidney functions and cause damage to the heart and lungs. The purpose of this study is to assess the quality and safety of polyethylene food contact materials used in the Ghanaian food industry in terms of phthalate migration.

The concentration of the phthalates detected in the aqueous food simulant was below the Specific Migration Limit (SML) of the current EC regulation for the migration of phthalates in food contact materials (FCM) whiles the migrated concentrations of the phthalates in the fatty food simulant; however, had some of its concentrations exceeding the SML stated in the regulation (EU) 10/2011.

Competing interests

The authors declares no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Paul Osei-Fosu and the staff of the Pesticide Residue Laboratory – Ghana Standards Authority, for their support in providing the chemicals and glassware used in this project. Our appreciation also goes to Dr Samuel Frimpong, Kumasi Regional Officer- Ghana Standards Authority for his assistance and guidance in the use of the GC-MS. We would also like to thank staff of the Metallic Contaminants Laboratory-GSA for their support and encouragement throughout this project.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Adongo Abdul-Malik Ayamba

The Author, Ayamba A. Abdul-Malik is an analytical chemist with several years of experience in metallic Contaminants analysis in both food and environmental Samples using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS).

To have abetter understanding of food safety with respect to food contaminants, the author also has research interest in other food contaminants such as Aflatoxins, Histamine and pesticide residue. Mr Ayamba is currently aSenior Scientific Officer (SSO) of the Food and Agriculture Department of Ghana Standards Authority and holds amaster of philosophy degree in analytical chemistry. He is passionate about research since that is the only way to have abetter understanding of the world.