Bisphenol A Contamination Analysis

Bisphenol A is an industrial organic chemical that is a structural component used to manufacture certain plastics and resins.

Figure 1. Food packages associated with Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A has been widely used in food contact and packaging materials such as polycarbonate beverage bottles and metal can coatings. Small amounts of contact materials including Bisphenol A can migrate into foods when foods are in direct contact with these packaging materials. Bisphenol A is considered as an environmental contaminant due to its wide utilization in the industry. This can also be a source of human exposure.

The major source for Bisphenol A getting into the foods is the migration from food packaging materials including plastic bottles and metal cans. The incompletion process of polymerization may cause Bisphenol A residues to migrate into foods during processing at high temperatures and storage in plastic bottles and containers. The migration process is complex and different factors can affect the migration rate, such as contact time and temperature, food composition and contact materials. The research on the prevention of migration and consequent risk of human exposure of Bisphenol A is under investigation.

Bisphenol A has shown to have potential adverse effect on the reproductive and development system of humans. Several animal and human studies showed that Bisphenol A can affect brain development and its behavior. It may also have toxicity on cardiovascular system. Once Bisphenol A is absorbed by the human body, it is conjugated in the liver and can expose to the internal system in the blood. It can also accumulate in adipose tissue.

The European Commission specified a limit of specific migration (SML) for Bisphenol A to manufacture plastic objects and any materials intended to come into contact with foods. The migration limit was set as 0.6 mg/kg of food. The EU legislation and U.S. FDA also established the tolerable daily intake for Bisphenol A. The limit was determined as 0.05 mg per kg body weight. It is very important to implement and enforce the legislation. Some EU member states have banned the application of Bisphenol A in containers and food packaging manufactured for children up to the age of 3 years.

The procedure for the analysis of Bisphenol A in foods includes the sample preparation and extraction, clean-ups, and detection/quantification. We control sample preparation factors and have extensive steps for sample clean-up step. We have expertise in the sample preparation of a variety types of food matrices. The sample preparation has significant effect on the accuracy of the level measured in the food samples.

We offer accurate and validated analytical methods that have been widely applied in the determination of Bisphenol A in food samples to meet customers' needs.

Gas chromatographs coupled with tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS)

GC-MS/MS can be used for the analysis of Bisphenol A in a variety of different food matrices with good sensitivity.

We also maintain high quality assurance for the analysis. The recovery of internal standard, the use of blanks and spikes is monitored for each batch of analysis.