Plastic packaging - a possible source of food contamination

Anna Pavelková

Bakalářská práce

Abstract:

With the development of the food industry and the manufacturing of plastic materials, plastic packaging became very popular and has replaced many of food packaging materials. However, additives that improve the traits of plastic either during or after the production are added to the plastic materials. Phthalates and Bisphenol A with its analogues are the most common ones. The most used phthalate is di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate also known as DEHP. These additives are plentifully used in food industry as well as in other industrial branches and can easily release from the plastic packaging due to the weak bonds with the polymer and therefore they can migrate to the packed foodstuff or beverage. There are several factors which influence the intensity of migration of phthalates and bisphenols such as temperature, pH, UV irradiation, the character of the food matrix and the time span. In general, the higher the temperature is and the longer the time span or length of storage is, the more phthalates and bisphenols migrate from the plastic package to food inside it. Significant is the impact of the character of the food matrix as well. In case of high fat content in the foodstuff, the migration of additives is accelerated and considerably higher than in foods with a high percentage of water. Furthermore, phthalates and bisphenols may not only be present in foodstuffs but are considered as ubiquitous. They have been detected in the urine of over 90% of the population and are linked to various health risks. The main negative impact of both phthalates and bishenols is the ability to cause endocrine disruption which already happens at low concentrations. Endocrine disruptors have a similar structure to hormones so that they bind to the receptors meant for hormones and they interfere in their function. Phthalates and bisphenols are similar to sex hormones and act as weak estrogens. This may lead to worse sperm quality in males. In rodents, the daily dose of 25 mg BPA/kg of body weight resulted in lower spermatogenesis, worse sperm motility and lower sperm counts. In addition, high concentrations of phthalates and bisphenol A were linked to higher obesity incidence and type ll diabetes. Bisphenol A influences bone metabolism as well which can contribute to osteoporosis. This is related to the metabolism of vitamin D3. Daily exposure to bisphenol A concentrations which exceed 50 mg/kg of body weight caused a decrease of the active form of vitamin D3 and increased its excretion in rodents.

Keywords

Bisphenol A, DEHP, Phthalates, Health risks, Migration package-food

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 13. 4. 2021

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: Ing. Luboš Paznocht
• Oponent: Veronika Jarošová, Ing.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta agrobiologie, potravinových a přírodních zdrojů

Bakalářský studijní program / obor:
Zemědělství, zahradnictví a rozvoj venkova / Výživa a potraviny