ECOSPHERE, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2023 Sep;40(9):1230-1241. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2023.2240908. Epub 2023 Aug 24.
Many food contact materials (FCMs) and reusable plastics in the food industry contain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of synthetic pollutants that are known to be potentially harmful for wildlife, humans, and the environment. PFAS may migrate from FCMs to food consumed by humans. As a replacement for plastics, often paper and other plant-based materials are used in commercial settings. This also applies to drinking straws, where plant-based and other presumably eco-friendly straws are increasingly used to reduce plastic pollution. In order to make these materials water-repellent, PFAS are added during manufacturing but can also already be present early in the supply chain due to the use of contaminated raw materials. In the present study, we examined the PFAS concentrations in 39 different brands of straws, made from five materials (i.e. paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel, and plastic) commercially available on the Belgian market. We combined both targeted and suspect-screening approaches to evaluate a wide range of PFAS. PFAS were found to be present in almost all types of straws, except for those made of stainless steel. PFAS were more frequently detected in plant-based materials, such as paper and bamboo. We did not observe many differences between the types of materials, or the continents of origin. The presence of PFAS in plant-based straws shows that they are not necessarily biodegradable and that the use of such straws potentially contributes to human and environmental exposure of PFAS.
许多食品接触材料（FCM）和可重复使用的塑料在食品工业中都含有多氟和全氟烷基物质（PFAS），这是一组已知对野生动物、人类和环境具有潜在危害的合成污染物。PFAS 可能会从 FCM 迁移到人类食用的食物中。作为塑料的替代品，商业环境中经常使用纸张和其他植物基材料。这同样适用于饮用吸管，其中植物基和其他据称环保的吸管越来越多地被用来减少塑料污染。为了使这些材料具有防水性，在制造过程中会添加 PFAS，但由于使用了受污染的原材料，它们也可能在供应链的早期就已经存在。在本研究中，我们检查了比利时市场上 39 种不同品牌吸管的 PFAS 浓度，这些吸管由五种材料（即纸、竹子、玻璃、不锈钢和塑料）制成。我们结合了靶向和可疑筛选方法来评估广泛的 PFAS。除了不锈钢制成的吸管外，几乎所有类型的吸管中都发现了 PFAS。在植物基材料中，如纸张和竹子中，更频繁地检测到 PFAS。我们没有观察到材料类型或起源地之间有许多差异。植物基吸管中存在 PFAS 表明它们不一定是可生物降解的，并且使用这种吸管可能会导致人类和环境接触 PFAS。
