Method for assessing lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic in high-density polyethylene packaging and study of the migration into yoghurt and simulant

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to assess the concentration of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) packaging intended for contact with yoghurt and the migration of these elements using the food itself and 3% acetic acid as a food simulant in accordance to ANVISA, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency. In order to perform this study, it was necessary to develop and validate a method by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis. For method validation, the parameters linearity, limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs), accuracy and precision were determined. Fifteen commercial samples of yoghurt, marketed in Campinas - São Paulo (Brazil), were used for the analysis. The packaging and yoghurt were digested in high-pressure ashing equipment (HPA) and the migration of the elements into simulant were determined directly in the solution. The validated method proved adequate and the results obtained showed that all the packaging had levels of Hg and Cd below the LOQ, corresponding to 1.0 and 1.5 μg l(-1), respectively. The highest levels of As and Pb were 0.87 and 462.3 mg kg(-1), respectively. The migration of these elements to the yoghurt after 45 days of contact at 4ºC was below the LOQ for all the samples assessed. The results of specific migration into 3% acetic acid simulant showed the concentrations of Cd, Hg and As below 5, 5 and 10 µg kg(-1), respectively, which are the maximum limits set by ANVISA. However, for three samples the packaging lid showed migration of Pb into simulant ranging from 30.6 to 40.2 μg kg(-1), exceeding the limit set by ANVISA of 10 μg kg(-1).

Determination of the selected heavy metal and metalloid contents in various types of plastic bags

“…As such bags are hardly used for food packaging and largely for shopping and grocery, so there are less direct health risks. However, such bags have indirectly environmental impacts during treatment, recycling and disposal [27,31,32].…”

Atomic spectrometry update. Review of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and functional materials

“…Two other papers have reported the determination of numerous metals from food packaging materials. 242,243 In the former, Kiyataka et al also used 3% acetic acid as a food simulant as well as yoghurt to determine the leaching rates of As, Cd, Hg and Pb from high density polyethylene. The plastic and the yoghurt were digested using a high pressure ashing device prior to ICP-OES analysis.…”

Study of Controlled Migration of Cadmium and Lead Into Foods From Plastic Utensils for Children

“…Regarding Pb, the toxic effects of this metal in the organism of children have been associated with learning di culties, attention de cit, low intelligence quotient (IQ) and anti-social behavior (Bellinger, 2004;Needleman, 2004 Olympio et al 2017). Lead contamination can occur during the food production process through to speci c migration from packaging into the foods contained (Kiyataka et al 2014). With regard to Cd, the main toxicological effects include renal damage, hypertension, emphysema, malformation, and impaired reproductive function (Magna et al 2014).…”