National Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials, Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany.
Official Control Laboratory of the Canton of Zurich, Fehrenstr. 15, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
Molecules. 2021 Jan 19;26(2):509. doi: 10.3390/molecules26020509.
Elastomers are not a uniform class of materials but comprise a broad spectrum of chemically different polymers. Sealing gaskets, gloves, teats, conveyor belts and tubing are examples of elastomers being used as food contact materials (FCMs). Ten elastomer samples were evaluated with respect to the content of extractable compounds, migration of substances into ethanolic food simulants, swelling in food simulants and release of elements in different food simulants. The number of extractable substances <1000 Da was determined by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with flame ionisation detection (GC × GC-FID) analysis of tetrahydrofuran (THF) extracts. The number of signals ranged from 61 (a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)) to 690 (a natural rubber/styrene-butadiene-rubber blend (NR/SBR)). As for risk assessment, the decisive factor is which substances reach the food. The extent of substances that migrate into ethanolic food simulants was investigated. Elastomer FCMs can be the source of food contamination with heavy metals. Notably, contamination with lead was detected in some samples investigated in this study. It was shown that food simulants harbour the potential to morphologically alter or even disintegrate elastomeric materials. The results presented here highlight the importance to carefully choose the elastomer type for the intended use as FCMs as not every application may prove safe for consumers.
弹性体不是一类均匀的材料，而是包含了广泛的化学性质不同的聚合物。密封垫圈、手套、奶嘴、输送带和管材都是作为食品接触材料（FCM）使用的弹性体的例子。对十种弹性体样品进行了评估，涉及可提取化合物的含量、物质向乙醇食品模拟物中的迁移、在食品模拟物中的溶胀以及不同食品模拟物中元素的释放。通过对四氢呋喃（THF）提取物进行全面二维气相色谱法（GC×GC-FID）分析，确定了 <1000 Da 的可提取物质的数量。信号数量从 61 个（热塑性弹性体（TPE））到 690 个（天然橡胶/丁苯橡胶共混物（NR/SBR））不等。至于风险评估，决定性因素是哪些物质到达食物。研究了物质迁移到乙醇食品模拟物中的程度。弹性体 FCM 可能是食物受到重金属污染的源头。值得注意的是，在本研究中调查的一些样品中检测到了铅污染。结果表明，食品模拟物具有改变弹性体材料形态甚至使其解体的潜力。这里呈现的结果强调了在选择用于食品接触用途的弹性体类型时需要谨慎，因为并非每种应用都可能对消费者安全。
