Determination of nitrogen-containing organic compounds in commercially available recycled cardboards intended for food contact applications

Abstract

In today’s Circular Economy, recycling, reuse, and recovery of materials are the most important components when it comes to solid waste management. Even though recyclable packaging materials such as plastic, paper, metal, and glass are traditionally used in the Food Industry as raw materials, recovered materials are also being incorporated in order to address the global waste problem. The challenge, however, is to strike a balance between sustainability and food safety. This study developed and compared two rapid and simple methods, Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) and Head Space Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, to evaluate the concentrations of a mixture of nitrogen-containing compounds in commercially recycled cardboards. HS-SPME showed slightly better analytical performance than UAE. Considering that HS-SPME additionally constitutes a solvent free “green” method, the appliance of this method appears to be more environmentally friendly. Additionally, an approach to evaluate the possible migration from recycled cardboard samples was made to create a tool for assessing the use of these materials for safe food packaging. Trials simulated storage in room temperature for 6–12 months (“mild” conditions, 40 °C for 10 days) and the worst forcible conditions (“extreme” conditions, 70 °C for 6 h) using Tenax as a food simulant. The migration rates of the contaminants varied according to the nature of the substance, the grammage of the cardboard packaging, contact time, and temperature. Under both conditions studied, two of the substances migrated into Tenax, and their migration rates ranged from 15 to 90 %.