Butyltin compounds in vinegar collected in Beijing: Species distribution and source investigation

Abstract

Forty-eight vinegar samples including white vinegar, rice vinegar and mature vinegar were collected from several markets in Beijing. Butyltin compounds were determined by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography and flame photometric detector after in situ ethylation with sodium tetraethylborate. Butyltin species were detected in sixteen vinegar samples and ranged from 0.012 to 14.10 μg Sn L−1. The detection rate of white vinegar is higher than that of rice vinegar and mature vinegar. Vinegar samples with relatively high butyltin concentration (>1.5 μg Sn L−1) were those stored in plastic bags, indicating that the plastic bag was one of the possible sources of butyltin contamination. This was further confirmed by the leaching experiments of three selected plastic bags, and monobutyltin was detected in the leaching solvents. According to the estimation, the average daily intake of total butyltin compounds through vinegar consumption is about 0.04 ng Sn/kg b.w., much lower than the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of 100 ng Sn/kg b.w. set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).