2-Isopropylthioxanthone (2-ITX) in food and food packaging materials on the German market

Diane Fuegel (1) , Markus Baumann (2) , Thorsten Rothenbacher (2)

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To elucidate the occurrence of the photo-initiator 2-isopropylthioxanthone (2-ITX) in products on the German market more than 100 foods packed in cartons as well as in plastic cups and foils were investigated. For this, a fast method to detect 2-ITX in food packaging materials was established. In case of positive findings the accompanying foodstuffs were analyzed in a subsequent step using different extraction methods, depending on the fat content of the food. Determination of the photo-initiator was done by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array and fluorescence detection (HPLC-DAD/FLD). The recoveries achieved ranged between 94 and 106% for non-fatty (RSD ≤ 1.1) and between 80 and 105% for fatty foods (RSD ≤ 8.5), respectively. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification were determined to 2 and 5 µg l^-1 2-ITX. 2-ITX was detected in 36 out of 137 packages (26%) and significant migration occurred in 75% of the packaging materials tested positive. The amounts of 2-ITX ranged up to 357 µg kg^-1 found in orange juice.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Diane Fuegel, Markus Baumann, Thorsten Rothenbacher. 2-Isopropylthioxanthone (2-ITX) in food and food packaging materials on the German market. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2007, 24 (04), pp.438-444. ⟨10.1080/02652030601182664⟩. ⟨hal-00577541⟩