Pollution Characteristics And Health Risks Of Typical Harmful Substances In Fast Food Packaging In My Country

In recent years,the takeout food in China has exploded.The plastic and paper packaging were usually used in these fast foods.Some chemicals have been usually used in packaging in order to make them have good ductility,specific color and stability.In addition,the packaging may be made of recycled materials,and some harmful substances may have been introduced with the raw materials.However,the available information on pollution characteristics of harmful substances in takeout food packaging and associated with risks to human health are very limited.Phthalate esters(PAEs)are usually used as plasticizers in the takeout food packaging,especially in plastic materials.In addition,some metals including chromium,lead and copper are usually added into plastics and/or paper packaging as pigments,stabilizers,colorants and other specific purpos.So far,there are few reports on the pollution of PAEs and heavy metals and the associated with health risksinform these chemicals in the takeout food packaging.In this study,we collected typical takeout food packaging materials including polypropylene plastic,expanded polystyrene and paper materials to detecte the concentrations of PAEs and heavy metals.Further,the relationship between the occurrence of these chemicals and product characteristics were investigated.The human exposure to the PAEs and heavy metals and the potential health risks were estimated in this study.Our results could provid important informations to the health risk management on the takeout food packaging products.The pollution characteristics of 16 PAEs in the takeout food packaging from China were investigated.The summed concentrations of the 16 PAEs in takeout food packaging from China were 0.12-86.1 ?g/g.Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate(DEHP),di-n-butyl phthalate(DnBP)and Di-iso-butyl phthalate(DiBP)were the most abundant PAEs,contributing a median of 38.7%,37.9%and 15.9%of the total concentrations,respectively,in all of the sampled packages.The concentrations of 16 PAE in food packaging varied by materials,and the highest concentration was found in expanded polystyrene,which may be related to the artificial addition of PAEs in raw materials and processing.The concentrations of PAEs in our study were all lower than the corresponding limit concentrations in China,US,and EU.However,our results are at a moderate level compared to other studies.The migration of PAEs from food packaging to food simulants were simulated to assess the potential exposure risk to humans.Under certain conditions,PAEs would migrate from food packaging to fatty foods.The highest migration efficiency of ?16PAEs was expanded polystyrene packaging(40.8%),followed by colored polypropylene plastic packaging(30.4%),paper packaging(29.4%)and colorless polypropylene plastic packaging(25.3%).The daily exposure doses for PAEs in takeout food packaging we estimated were at a medium level compared with previous studies.The non-carcinogenic risk from exposure to dimethyl phthalate(DMP),diethyl phthalate(DEP),DiBP,DnBP,benzyl butyl phthalate(BzBP),and DEHP in takeout food packaging were acceptable,but the carcinogenic risk from exposure to DEHP in takeout food packaging exceeded acceptable level(1.0×10-6)in more than 70%of samples.The pollution characteristics of seven heavy metals in takeout food packaging from China were investigated.The detection rates of Cr,Sb,Ni and Co were the highest at 100%.The median concentrations of seven heavy metals in takeout food packaging from China were 0.02-5.73 ?g/g.The concentrations of heavy metals in our study were lower than the limit concentration in China.The concentrations of seven heavy metals varied by materials,and the highest concentration was found in expanded polystyrene,which may be related to the artificial addition of heavy metals in raw materials and processing.However,our results are at a moderate level compared to other studies.The migration of heavy metals from food packaging to food simulants were simulated to assess the potential exposure risk to humans.The migration efficiencies of heavy metals from different food packaging to fatty foods were different.Among them,the migration efficiency of Pb and Sb in paper food packaging was the highest,being 38.8%and 42.4%,respectively.The migration efficiency of Ni and Co in the expanded polystyrene packaging was the highest,being 12.3%and 23.2%,respectively.In this study,the migration concentration of heavy metals in takeout food packaging samples were lower than the relevant standards.The daily exposure doses for heavy metals in takeout food packaging we estimated were at a low level compared with previous studies.The non-carcinogenic risk of human exposure to heavy metals and the carcinogenic risks of human exposure to Cd in food packaging were acceptable(<1.0×10-6).