The analysis of the migration of per and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from food contact materials using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to ion-mobility quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC- IMS-QTOF)

Per-poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of synthetic fluorine compounds used in food packaging
materials to repel water and fats. This study assessed the chemical migration of PFAS from different food contact
materials, including cardboard, recycled cardboard, biopolymer, paper and Teflon trays, from various markets.
Migration assays were conducted using Tenax® as a food simulant, which was optimized by subjecting it to three
consecutive extractions with 3 mL of ethanol within an hour. The resulting extractions were combined and
concentrated to 0.5 mL using a nitrogen stream. The analysis was performed using ultrahigh performance liquid
chromatography (UPLC) coupled with ion-mobility (IMS) quadrupole-time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry,
which provided a powerful and novel tool for identifying a library of targets containing collision cross section
values (CCS) and increasing confidence in subsequent identifications. Eleven PFAS compounds belonging to the
family of perfluorocarboxylic acid, perfluorosulfonic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid substances
(PFCAs, PFSAs and FOSAAs) were found in packaging samples obtained from China, with migrant concentrations
ranging 3.2 and 22.3 μg/kg. In contrast, no detectable levels of PFAS were observed in packaging samples obtained
in Spain. All trays tested were deemed to be suitable for use as food contact materials due to the fact that
their migrant values were lower than 0.025 mg/kg for PFOA and its salts, and lower than a maximum concentration
of 1 mg/kg for PFOA-related compounds.