Migration of aluminum from food contact materials to food—a health risk for consumers? Part III of III: migration of aluminum to food from camping dishes and utensils made of aluminum

Background

When cooking on a barbecue grill, consumers often use aluminum grill pans. For one, the pan catches the fats and oils that would drip into the embers causing the formation of potentially noxious smoke, and the pan also protects the food from being burned by direct heat from the coals. In addition, new aluminum products for use in ovens and grills are becoming increasingly popular. Due to their light weight and excellent heat transfer camping, utensils made of aluminum are, for example, often used by fishermen and mountain climbers. Preparing food in aluminum utensils can, however, result in migration of the aluminum to the foodstuffs.

Results/Conclusions

In this study presented here, it was found that the transfer limit of 5.00 mg/L for aluminum is not exceeded using simulants for oil or for tap water; however, with an aqueous solution of 0.5% citric acid, the limit is clearly exceeded at 638 mg/L. This means that the Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI) is exceeded by 298% for a child weighing 15 kg and for an adult weighing 70 kg it is equivalent to 63.8% of the TWI, assuming a daily uptake of 10 mL marinade containing lemon juice over a period of 1 week. Preparation of a fish dish with a marinade containing lemon juice in camping dishes would result in the TWI being exceeded by 871% for a child weighing 15 kg and by 187% for an adult weighing 70 kg assuming a daily uptake of 250 g over a period of 1 week.

     

Emission and burnt smell characteristics from combustion experiments with defined materials

Typical burnt smell often results from fire accidents or in general from incomplete combustion. Recently, eleven compounds were identified, which are basically responsible for this odour. When analyzing residual materials from different fire accidents, the pattern that means the relative ratios of these compounds among each other varies strongly, although always causing a burnt smelling. Consequently, lab-scale combustion experiments were performed in order to investigate the influence of defined materials from domestic environment on the burnt-smell fingerprints. Furthermore, the occurrence of other polar and higher molecular combustion products was studied. It was found that under good combustion conditions, the burnt smell patterns resulting from the single materials were astonishingly consistent, mostly dominated by methylphenols or naphthalene. No correlation could be found between these ‘fingerprints’ and combustion product groups identified by GC/MS-screenings. LC/MS/MS-measurements especially pointed at the existence of higher molecular weight phenolic and acidic functionalized compounds in the combustion residues.     

Verbleib von spurenschadstoffen bei der methylesterherstellung aus altspeisefett im technikumsmaßstab

Aims and Scope

In Germany, 120,000 tons per year of waste edible fats are collected from the catering and the food industry Until recently, these fats have widely been used as a nutritional additive for poultry and other animals fodder. Due to the BSE crisis and some affairs based on dioxins in feeding stuff, waste fats are now barely used as fodder. Currently, these fats substitute fresh vegetable oils in the chemical industry and are used as raw material for the production of biodiesel. Therefore, alternative fields of application are required. In this context, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is sponsoring a joint research project which deals with the production and testing of cooling lubricants based on monoesters made from waste edible fats.

Methods

In a first step, characteristics and quality of wasteedible fats of different origins were chemically analysed and monitored. The investigations covered the following fat specific parameters: total contamination, sulphate ash, water content, peroxide number, iodine value, kinematical viscosity, neutralisation number (free fatty acids) and fatty acid spectra. In the next step, a process development/optimisation was carried out for the production of methylesters based on the raw material waste fat, leading to the construction of a pilot plant. To investigate the fate of trace pollutants during the production process of waste-fat methylester, samples were systematically contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and the elements Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, P, Pb, Sn, and Zn. These contaminated fat samples were transesterified in laboratory scale. The primary and by-products were analysed subsequently.

Results

Valuable hints on the design of the technical process of fatty adid methylester production based on waste edible fats were gained by regarding the fat specific parameters. For example, filtration and dewatering of the waste fats proved necessary. The saturated fatty acids, most wanted for the production of cooling lubricants due to their high oxidation stability, were present in the range of 11,3% to 31,6%. Due to the low content of free fatty acids, a base catalysed process occurred more suitable for the transesterification of the waste edible fats. Trace analytical investigations concerning inorganic and organic pollutants proved a low basic contamination of the waste edible fats. Experiments with systematic contamination of the fats indicated an accumulation of the heavy metals in the glycerol phase during the transesterification process, whereas the organic pollutants were detected in the methylester fraction by amounts of 80% to 95%.

Outlook

In a next step, the further processing of the methylesters to monoesters with alcohols of the chain length C2 to C8 will be presented. Associated results of chemical-analytical investigations on the process and the application of the cooling lubricants will also be given.     

Toxicology of perfluorinated compounds

Perfluorinated compounds [PFCs] have found a wide use in industrial products and processes and in a vast array of consumer products. PFCs are molecules made up of carbon chains to which fluorine atoms are bound. Due to the strength of the carbon/fluorine bond, the molecules are chemically very stable and are highly resistant to biological degradation; therefore, they belong to a class of compounds that tend to persist in the environment. These compounds can bioaccumulate and also undergo biomagnification. Within the class of PFC chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorosulphonic acid are generally considered reference substances. Meanwhile, PFCs can be detected almost ubiquitously, e.g., in water, plants, different kinds of foodstuffs, in animals such as fish, birds, in mammals, as well as in human breast milk and blood. PFCs are proposed as a new class of 'persistent organic pollutants'. Numerous publications allude to the negative effects of PFCs on human health. The following review describes both external and internal exposures to PFCs, the toxicokinetics (uptake, distribution, metabolism, excretion), and the toxicodynamics (acute toxicity, subacute and subchronic toxicities, chronic toxicity including carcinogenesis, genotoxicity and epigenetic effects, reproductive and developmental toxicities, neurotoxicity, effects on the endocrine system, immunotoxicity and potential modes of action, combinational effects, and epidemiological studies on perfluorinated compounds).     

Chemisch-analytische Charakterisierung technischen tierischen Fettes aus einer Tierkörperbeseitigungsanstalt

Aims and Scope

German rendering plants produce 300,000 tons of animal fat per year. Until recently, these raw products have been in wide use as nutritional additive for cattle and other animals fodder but now they have been banned due to their assumed role in BSE infection. Therefore, alternative fields of usage are required. In this context the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is sponsoring a joint research project which deals with the production and testing of cooling lubricants based on animal fat esters.

Methods

In a first step, characteristics and quality of the animal fat were analyzed and monitored for a whole year in order to identify e.g. seasonal variations. The investigations covered the following fat specific and trace analytical parameters: total contamination, sulfates ash, water content, peroxide number, iodine value, kinematical viscosity, neutralisation number (free fatty acids), fatty acid spectra, elements / heavy metals (Al, B, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mo, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sn, V, W and Zn), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans.

Results

Valuable hints on the design of the technical process of fatty acid methylesters production were gained by regarding the fat specific parameters. For example, filtration and dewatering of the fats proved necessary. Small variations of iodine value, viscosity and fatty acid spectrum pointed at a quite constant composition of the raw material in the course of the year. Clues to the degree of hydrolysis and decay of the fat were given by the share of free fatty acids. The saturated fatty acids, most interesting for the production of the cooling lubricants, were present in the fatty acid spectra in the rage of 36.4% to 54.6%. Trace analytical investigations concerning inorganic and organic pollutants proved a low basic contamination of the technical animal fats.

Outlook

Next step will be to present the pilot plant for the production of the cooling lubricants and further analytical results in context with the production process.     

Schnelle Elementanalytik zur Abschätzung von Dioxinbelastungen: Ein neues Werkzeug zur Untersuchung von Brandschäden?

A car and a railway coach with an InterCityExpress interior were combusted in a tunnel. The deposition of pollutants could be detected by passive sampling devices over the distance of several hundred meters. Cotton passive collectors were analyzed for the elements Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn, V and Zn. A comparison with analytical results of PCDD/F and PAH (US EPA) showed a close similarity between the concentration profiles of some elements and the organic pollutants. As one outcome, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn could be used as indicators for the estimation of surface contamination with PCDD/F or PAH in the event of such fires, thereby providing the advantages of faster results and lower costs.     

Neue EU-weite Höchstgehalte für Blei und Cadmium in Lebensmitteln

As of 5 April 2002, the maximum levels of the environmental contaminants, lead and cadmium, in different foodstuffs are now applicable for the first time throughout the entire EU. The toxicological assessment of lead and cadmium provides the basis for establishing maximum levels for these heavy metals in foods. The fixation of maximum levels results in obligatory regulations concerning the admissible burden of foods with these contaminants and, consequently, contributes to a health-related protection of the consumer. On 8 March 2001, the Commission issued a directive laying down the smapling methods and the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of lead, cadmium and mercury in foodstuffs.     

Reformprozess Staatliches Untersuchungsamt Hessen (SUAH)

Ohne Zusammenfassung Mit freundlicher Genehmigung von: Tiermedizin in Giessen-TIG, Heft 2/02, S. 33–38, 2002. TIG ist die ‘Zeitschrift des Vereins für Freunde und F?rderer der Veterin?rmedizin an der Justus-Liebig-Universit?t Gle?en eV’.     

Analytical Investigations on a Releasing Agent Application in Aluminium Diecasting (6 pp)

Background, Aims and Scope Releasing agents, applied in the aluminium diecasting process, usually consist of water, oils, waxes, polysiloxanes, as well as of a set of additives like emulsifiers, corrosion inhibitors, and biocides. During spray application and part release, gases and aerosols are emitted into workplace air. The chemical compositions of these emissions are determined by the components of the releasing agents and their reaction products formed during thermal stress of more than 700 °C. In the frame of the joint project, the analytical tasks were to develop an appropriate sampling strategy for this production environment, to draw conclusions about the occurrence of hazardous chemicals from production plant studies and from laboratory-scale thermolysis experiments, and to determine the biodegradability of customary releasing agents. Methods During realistic test production, active air sampling was performed in a production hall using different adsorption materials. Cotton fabric sheets were positioned in the production area as passive samplers. Thermolysis experiments were performed at 600 °C with sealed quartz ampoules. The biodegradability of different releasing agents was determined according to German industry standard DIN 51828 (2000). For analyses, GC/MS (headspace), FTIR, HPLC, IC, and ICP-OES techniques were applied. Results and Discussion The substance spectrum, which was found in workplace air, was dominated by saturated and non-saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Besides these, alcohols, alkyl phenols, xylenes and other benzene derivatives, aldehydes, glycols, carboxylic acid esters, and amides were present. The German limiting value of 40 mg/m3 of complex hydrocarbon mixtures in a diecasting workplace atmosphere was clearly under-run. Total hydrocarbon contents ranged between 2.7 and 6.3 mg/m3. Five different PAH were found in the air close to the diecasting machine, with maximum concentrations between 0.05 and 3.06 μg/m3. Concentrations of nonylphenols ranged from 10 to 200 μg/m3, and those of triethanolamine from 20 to 30 μg/m3. From 17 elements analyzed, only B, Fe, P, S, Si, and Ti were emitted in small amounts. It was striking that the PAH patterns resulting from thermolysis experiments were quite the same compared to those determined during the diecasting process. An influence of water and of Fe/Al on the composition of the thermolysis products could mostly be shown. The degrees of biodegradation of three releasing agent extracts after 21 days were 21%, 29%, and 55%, respectively. Conclusion A sampling strategy was developed, which allows an emission assessment for the industrial process of aluminium diecasting. It enabled one to control limiting values, to characterise a wide variety of compounds emitted, and to identify and quantify relevant pollutants. Only a few hazardous substances could be detected during the exemplary use of one releasing agent within the compounds emitted into workplace air. Indications were found, that the prediction of the formation of harmful substances from releasing agent components should be possible via thermolysis experiments. The biodegradability test can serve to assess the expenditure of disposal of the usual leakage run-off of excess agent during production. Recommendation and Outlook Investigations on further differently composed releasing agents, e.g. powders, would be desirable. A substitution of nonylphenol ethoxylates by less harmful components would surely be an improvement of a releasing agent with regard to work safety and health care, because of avoiding the emission of toxic and endocrine active nonylphenols. The surprisingly wide range of biodegradability of the investigated releasing agents points to an optimization potential, that has obviously not yet been considered.     

Development of an immuno-immobilized androgen receptor assay (IRA) and its application for the characterization of the receptor binding affinity of different pesticides

Pesticides are synthetic chemicals used not only for improving food and feed production but also for the protection of materials and of human health and well-being. Some of these substances are suspected for adverse effects attributable to an interaction with the endocrine system of vertebrates by mimicking or inhibiting endogenous hormones. One of the biological targets important in this relation is the androgen receptor (AR). To be able to screen environmental samples for the presence of compounds which might interfere with androgen action, we aimed to develop a receptor assay based on recombinant human AR (rhAR). We herein describe an rhAR assay in which the receptor is immobilized in microtiter plates via a specific antibody. The assay can be used for high throughput screening of chemicals spread into the environment. 29 of the most recommended pesticides of the Federal Country Hessen, Germany, were tested for their ability to displace [3H]-DHT bound to the rhAR. This evaluation included the major part of the most common herbicides, insecticides and fungicides and covered three potential groups of endocrine disrupting chemicals. For 28 of the substances evaluated, the relative binding affinity to the rhAR was below 0.1% when compared to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (100%), only fentinacetate exhibited an affinity of 1.42%. An exchange assay indicated that the binding inhibition was reversible. In consequence, fentinacetate seems to be a hormonally active substance which may be present in vegetables or fish, but also on clothing. We conclude that further investigations on this compound and its metabolites are necessary.