MIGRATION OF FLUORINATED TELOMER ALCOHOLS (FTOH) FROM FOOD CONTACT MATERIALS INTO FOOD AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES Fengler R, Schlummer M, Gruber L, Fiedler D, Weise N Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Dep. Products Safety and Analysis, Giggenhauser Str. 35, D-85354 Freising, Germany Introduction Perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), persistent and partly bioaccumulative compounds, have been identified in our daily diet, including perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCA) and perfluorinated sulphonic acids (PFSA) 1 . As several authors found PFOS and PFOA levels to 3500 ppb in paper-based food packaging with oleophobic coatings, it was discussed that a transfer of these compounds from packing into packed food items may contribute to overall PFAS levels in diet 2, 3 . In addition to PFCA and PFSA, fluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs) have been identified in paper-based packaging 4 , with 10- to 100-fold higher levels than PFCA and PFSA. Since FTOH are well-known precursor substances for PFCA, these precursors may add to PFCA levels in our diet or end up in human tissues, if degradation does not start before ingestion. According the German Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) there are about ten fluorine-based materials for grease-proof papers and cardboards, used for food contact materials. Their molecular masses range from around 1000 to over 100000 Daltons. These coating materials contain side groups based on FTOHs, which can potentially split off and furthermore degrade into PFCAs. The probability of such reactions increases with increasing temperatures, and, thus, paper-based baking aids with oleophobic surface treatment may be critical food contact materials. Therefore, the aim of the present work was to investigate the migration of FTOH from paper-based baking aids into real food samples at defined parameters (temperature, time). Besides dough, butter and Tenax (a food stimulant for dry and fatty foods) were studied. Butter was chosen in order to compare the migration behaviour with similar studies carried out with fluorine containing packaging materials at ambient temperatures and at 4°C. Materials and methods At first, fluorine-positive muffin papers were identified by using sliding spark spectroscopy and Headspace GC/EI-MS as described elsewhere 4 . Then, methanol extracts of the muffin papers were subjected to FTOH specific analysis based on GC/CI-MS 4, 5 and quantified with isotope-labeled standards of 4:2-, 6:2-, 8:2- and 10:2-FTOHs. 13 migration tests with muffin paper were accomplished at oven temperatures as specified in Table 1. So self-made muffin doughs, differentiating in composition, two types of butter from the German market and Tenax were used for migration tests from 120 to 220 °C for 5 to 60 minutes. Butter 1 was packed in fluorine free butter wraps, whereas butter 2 had been exposed to FTOH containing butter wraps after production. While butter and muffin doughs are real food samples normally used at temperatures up to 150 °C (butter) and up to 220 °C (muffin), Tenax is an accepted simulant for high temperatures in general (Plastics Implementation Measure, (EG) Nr. 10/2011). Petri dishes were applied for migration tests with butter and glass vials, closed by safety caps, for Tenax experiments. Muffins were prepared as usual by filling up the whole muffin mould with dough. After migration contact, muffins were homogenized and sub samples of about 3g were fortified with isotope- labelled standards mentioned above and extracted with n-hexane by pressurized liquid extraction (ASE 200, Dionex, Germany), prepared with Teflon®-free equipment. In contrast, butter and Tenax samples were extracted with n-hexane by vortexing and ultrasonic bath after fortification with labeled standards. Afterwards, the n-hexane extracts were cleaned by solid phase extraction using silica as adsorbent (Phenomenex Strata Si-1). Reduced extracts were subjected to GC/CI-MS (TSQ 7000, Thermo) analysis using methane for chemical Organohalogen Compounds Vol. 73, 939-942 (2011) 939