Analysis of phthalic acid, bisphenol A and bisphenol A dimethacrylate in Mexican food cans by HPLC with evaporative light scattering detector

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol A dimethacrylate (BisDMA) and phthalic acid (PA) endocrine disruptors can migrate from the plastic lining of cans to foods producing serious health problems when they exceed allowable concentration limits for consumption. In this work, a method was assessed for the determination of BPA, BisDMA, and PA in vegetable food cans from Mexico using a food simulant. Those disruptors were determined by HPLC connected to an Evaporative Light Scattering Detector (ELSD), and simultaneous detection by UV-Vis detector was used for validation. The most frequently found disruptor in major concentration was PA over the range of 5.40 to 112.39 μg l−1. The samples analysed did not exceed the migration limit accepted by the US-FDA and US-EPA for bisphenols. Our results showed that HPLC-ELSD produces chromatograms with accurate signals and smaller detection limits than the UV-Vis detector for the substances analysed here.