Resolving the chemical structures of off-odorants and potentially harmful substances in toys—example of children’s swords

Abstract

Most children's toys on the market are primarily made out of plastic and other complex composite materials. Consumer complaints about offensive odors or irritating effects associated with toy products have increased in recent years. One example is the strongly perceivable negative odor reported for a particular series of toy swords. Characterizing the presence of contaminants, including those that have the potential to be deleterious to health, in such products is a significant analytical challenge due to the high baseline abundance of chemical constituents of the materials used in the products. In the present study, the nature of offensive odorants associated with toy sword products was examined by gas chromatography (GC). After initial sensory evaluations, the volatile compounds from the toy products were recovered using solvent extraction and solvent-assisted flavor evaporation. The extracts were analyzed using GC-olfactometry (GC-O) and two-dimensional GC-O coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-GC-MS/O). A total of 26 odor-active compounds, including aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols, were identified among numerous non-odorous volatile by-products. These substances also included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which were analyzed by GC-MS. Representative substances were naphthalene and 1,2-dihydronaphthalene that exhibited moldy, mothball-like odor impressions, and phenol derivatives with leather-like, phenolic, horse-stable-like smells. The odorants detected correlated with the assigned attributes from the sensory analyses. This study clearly shows that the detection and identification of such odorous contaminants can provide key indications of potentially harmful yet unknown substances in everyday products such as toys. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Emissions of VOCs From Polymer-Based Consumer Products: From Emission Data of Real Samples to the Assessment of Inhalation Exposure

“…Consumer products can contain harmful substances, such as residual solvents, monomers, or additives (2). Consumer complaints about strong and unpleasant odors from toys were registered and several studies addressed the identification of off-odorants in toys (3–5). These odors are linked to emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the products that may also release other non-odorous but harmful substances.…”

Emissions of volatile organic compounds from polymer‐based consumer products: Comparison of three emission chamber sizes

“…However, complaints about strong and unpleasant odors from polymer‐based consumer products point to the need for detailed studies looking into the emissions that arise from these items. Several studies are addressing the identification of off‐odorants in toys . Such products may release harmful odorants or non‐odorous substances into the indoor air and thus may negatively impact the occupants’ health.…”

“…These compounds depict a broad range of physico‐chemical properties (volatility, molecular weight, and polarity) and were all detected in polymeric toy or consumer product samples by the official German control laboratories. Most of them were also described in the literature . Experiments were carried out in a standard 203 L emission test chamber and two smaller chambers with volumes of 24 L and 44 mL, respectively, with a spiked reference polyurethane material that contained the 14 substances.…”

“…Several studies are addressing the identification of offodorants in toys. [4][5][6] Such products may release harmful odorants or non-odorous substances into the indoor air and thus may negatively impact the occupants' health.…”

“…Most of them were also described in the literature. 4,6,10,13 Experiments were carried out in a standard 203 L emission test chamber and two smaller chambers with volumes of 24 L and 44 mL, respectively, with a spiked reference polyurethane material that contained the 14 substances. The two smaller chambers, widely tested in previous studies, [21][22][23] would accommodate consumer product sizes much better and should also reduce costs and energy consumption.…”