Migration of bisphenol A from plastic baby bottles, baby bottle liners and reusable polycarbonate drinking bottles

Abstract

Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has recently received special attention. It has been shown that exposure to BPA may occur through the consumption of beverages or foods that have been in contact with polycarbonate (PC) plastic containers or epoxy resins in food packaging. A BPA migration study was conducted using a variety of plastic containers, including polycarbonate baby bottles, non-PC baby bottles, baby bottle liners, and reusable PC drinking bottles. Water was used to simulate migration into aqueous and acidic foods; 10% ethanol solution to simulate migration to low- and high-alcoholic foods; and 50% ethanol solution to simulate migration to fatty foods. By combining solid-phase extraction, BPA derivatization and analysis by GC-EI/MS/MS, a very low detection limit at the ng l⁻¹ level was obtained. Migration of BPA at 40°C ranged from 0.11 µg l⁻¹ in water incubated for 8 h to 2.39 µg l⁻¹ in 50% ethanol incubated for 240 h. Residual BPA leaching from PC bottles increased with temperature and incubation time. In comparison with the migration observed from PC bottles, non-PC baby bottles and baby bottle liners showed only trace levels of BPA. Tests for leachable lead and cadmium were also conducted on glass baby bottles since these represent a potential alternative to plastic bottles. No detectable lead or cadmium was found to leach from the glass. This study indicated that non-PC plastic baby bottles, baby bottle liners and glass baby bottles might be good alternatives for polycarbonate bottles.

Keywords:

• bisphenol A (BPA)
• migration
• polycarbonate
• baby bottles
• GC/EI-MS/MS

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial and material support from the Product Safety Directorate (Health Canada).