Abstract
Here, we conducted in vitro genotoxicity tests to evaluate the genotoxicity of styrene oligomers extracted from polystyrene intended for use in contact with food. Styrene oligomers were extracted with acetone and the extract was subjected to the Ames test (OECD test guideline No. 471) and the in vitro chromosomal aberration test (OECD test guideline No. 473) under good laboratory practice conditions. The concentrations of styrene dimers and trimers in the concentrated extract were 540 and 13,431 ppm, respectively. Extraction with acetone provided markedly higher concentrations of styrene oligomers compared with extraction with 50% ethanol aqueous solution, which is the food simulant currently recommended for use in safety assessments of polystyrene by both the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority. And these high concentrations of styrene dimers and trimers were utilized for the evaluation of genotoxicity in vitro. Ames tests using five bacterial tester strains were negative both in the presence or absence of metabolic activation. The in vitro chromosomal aberration test using Chinese hamster lung cells (CHL/IU) was also negative. Together, these results suggest that the risk of the genotoxicity of styrene oligomers that migrate from polystyrene food packaging into food is very low.
Highlights
Polystyrene was first used industrially in Germany in the mid-1930s, and since because of its useful characteristics such as high processability, shape reproducibility, Abbreviations: EFSA, European Food Safety Authority; General purpose polystyrene (GPPS), general purpose polystyrene; FDA, United States Food and Drug Administration; OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; SD, styrene dimer; styrene trimers (STs), styrene trimer.and superior foaming ability, it has been widely used in the production and packaging of commodities such as electronic devices and food
A total of four SDs and five STs were detected in the test sample (Table 3 and Fig. 1)
To contribute to the risk assessment of styrene oligomers migrated from polystyrene food packaging into food, in the present study we carried out the genotoxicity tests required by the FDA and EFSA for the safety evaluation of food packaging by using a concentrated solution of oligomers extracted from polystyrene intended for use in contact with food
Summary
Polystyrene was first used industrially in Germany in the mid-1930s, and since because of its useful characteristics such as high processability, shape reproducibility, Abbreviations: EFSA, European Food Safety Authority; GPPS, general purpose polystyrene; FDA, United States Food and Drug Administration; OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; SD, styrene dimer; ST, styrene trimer.and superior foaming ability, it has been widely used in the production and packaging of commodities such as electronic devices and food. 50–60% of the production volume of polystyrene is used for food packaging [1,2]. Polystyrene represents approximately 14% and 10% of plastic food-packaging materials used in the United States and Japan, respectively [3,4]. Kawamura reported that several kinds of SDs and STs can migrate from polystyrene products [7,8]. When using 50% of ethanol aqueous solution, 30–70 ppb of styrene trimers were extracted and no styrene dimers were detected [7]. No styrene dimers were detected, the amount of the migrated styrene trimers were estimated to be up to 33.8 g for one meal [8]. The endocrine-disrupting potencies of SDs and STs were actively investigated in the late 1990s to early 2000s. It was shown that SDs and STs extracted from polystyrene with acetone cause no reproductive toxicity in rats, either to dams or offspring, at concentrations of up to 1.0 mg/kg/day, which is a concentration 1000 times greater than the daily intake in humans [13]
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