Onderzoekscontract basiscontract Sciensano

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs), also known as polychlorinated n-alkanes with chlorine degree ranging from 30% to 70% by mass, are a complex mixture of thousands of isomers, diastereomers, and enantiomers.[3] They can be divided into short (SCCPs, C10-C13), medium (MCCPs, C14-17), and long chain CPs (LCCPs, > C17) according to their carbon chain length.[4] Among all CP groups, SCCPs have the highest toxic potential.[5] Although it has been suggested that ~ 85% of the human exposure to SCCPs occurs via the diet, concentration data of SCCPs in food is scarce. This is mainly caused by the complexity of CP mixtures, resulting in an unprecedented analytical challenge. In this project proposal, an adequate analytical method based on GC-MS/MS for the analysis of SCCPs in a wide variety of foods will be developed, validated and applied to evaluate the exposure of the Belgian population to SCCPs. First, a representative sampling plan will be developed by combining foods with expected contamination with SCCPs and foods that are highly consumed and thus have a significant impact on the dietary exposure. Next, the validated analytical method will be applied to the analysis of 220 food samples. Afterwards, the congener patterns of the highly contaminated samples (max 20 samples) will be further identified using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Since it has already been demonstrated that SCCPs can be released from hand blenders and household baking ovens, the impact of the use of food contact materials on the contamination of food and on the exposure will be further investigated. Finally, all data will be combined, and an exposure assessment will be conducted.

Trefwoorden:VOEDSELCHEMISCHE VEILIGHEID, VOEDSELANALYSE

Disciplines:Analytische scheidings- en detectietechnieken, Voedselverpakking, -conservering en -veiligheid

Project type:Samenwerkingsproject