Non-targeted analysis and risk assessment of intentionally and non-intentionally added substances migrating from the emerging biodegradable food contact material poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/modified starch blend film

Emerging biodegradable food contact materials (FCMs) are omnipresent in food handling and processing. However, similar to conventional FCMs, small molecules can migrate into the food matrix during contact. Extensive evaluation of the migration of chemicals, added intentionally and non-intentionally, from FCMs into food is a crucial step in the safety assessment of such materials. In this study, non-targeted screening was first performed to analyze migrants from poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/modified starch (PBAT/MFS) FCM using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive Plus Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Sixteen volatile migrants were identified, and 134 non-volatile compounds were screened for dissolution precipitates and food simulants using a self-built and commercially-available databases. The risk ranking for migrants revealed that 13 small molecules had high scores and were assigned as Risk I substances of great concern. Among them, pesticide residues and mycotoxins non-intentionally introduced from MFS blending are of great concern.